Catalytic Heating System and Method for Heating a Beverage or Food

ABSTRACT

A catalytic heating system for heating a beverage or food that comprises: a container for containing the beverage or food and a catalytic combustion assembly for heating the container, with the catalytic combustion assembly comprising a fuel supply assembly having a fuel canister for supplying a fuel gas having a stoichiometric ratio of about 15 to an air mixing injector for injecting the fuel gas into an elongate sidewall enclosure having curved shape and defining an enclosed catalytic combustion chamber where a catalytic combustion process is generated, causing the complete combustion of all of the fuel gas and heating the container containing the beverage or food.

PRIORITY

This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S, application Ser. No.14/988,526, filed on Dec. 31, 2015, which h a continuation ofInternational Application No. PCT/US2015/38456. filed on Jun. 30, 2015.which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/059,510,filed on Oct. 3, 2014.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This application relates to the use of systems and methods for thegeneration of heat for use in heating portable containers containingbeverages or food, and more specifically to systems and methods for thegeneration of catalytically produced heat within an enclosed catalyticcombustion chamber for heating a container containing a beverage orfood. Background Art

Portable heating systems, such as camping stoves and lanterns, are wellknown in the art of designing and manufacturing such systems. Campingstoves generally utilize an open or partially open flame to heat thestove's contents, with an aerosol canister containing a pressured fuel,typically butane or propane or a combination of those fuels, to supplythe fuel needed to maintain the flame. Lanterns, on the other hand,operate similarly to produce light. These devices have severalwell-known limitations, with the most obvious being the use of an openflame and the fire danger it possess. Other less obvious limitations arerelated to the chemical characteristics of butane and propane.

The working pressure available from fuel canisters containing butane(either iso- butane or n-butane) or propane or a mixture of such gasesis effected by variations in temperature that create conditions that arenot ideal for operating heating or lighting systems over a wide range ofambient temperatures and altitudes Specifically, the useful workingpressure for butane at lower ambient temperatures drops offsignificantly such that the proper operation of a heating or lightingdevice is impaired. Propane allows for operation at low ambienttemperatures but requires a heavier and more expensive fuel canister tosafely handle pressures that are normally encountered at higher ambienttemperatures. Mixed fuel combinations of butane and propane have beendeveloped to minimize the impact of pressure and temperature variation.But these combinations still suffer from a tendency of the more volatilecomponents of the combined fuels, which have lower boiling points, to beused up sooner than the less volatile fuel components, resulting inunsatisfactory pressure remaining in the fuel canister as it isdepleted, especially under cold conditions.

In addition to the limitations in using butane and propane to fuel anopen flame device, butane and propane also have other significantlimitations related to their potential use as a fuel source for acatalytic combustion process. An important characteristic for any fuelused in catalytic combustion is the light-off temperature, which is arough indicator of the propensity for the fuel oxidation reaction toproceed. Light-off temperature is often defined as the temperature atwhich the conversion rate for the reactants reaches 50%, abbreviated asT₅₀. A low T₅₀ assists in the complete conversion of the fuel to heatwithout producing intermediate reaction products and pollutants, whichmay occur when trying to operate the catalytic combustion process atrelatively low temperatures. A sufficiently low T₅₀ value will alsoallow for catalytic reactor designs that can use light weight metalssuch as aluminum without concern for exceeding material temperaturelimits or causing catalyst deterioration. The fuel gasses commonly, usedsuch as butane and propane, all have relatively high T₅₀ values,limiting the possible material design choices and catalytic reactoroperating parameters for the heating catalytic combustion chamber. Thehigher operating temperatures may also introduce unwanted design choicesnecessary to insure safe operating conditions for the user. Prior art isdeficient in describing means for insuring fail-safe operation ofcatalytic heating in a wide variety of circumstances. Irrespective offuel type, the prior art does not show how to adapt catalytic heating,to applications, such as, self-heated: temperature regulated portablebeverage heating or cooking applications in a manner that assures a highdegree of operational safety using techniques that are cost effective.Prior art also does not show how compressed gas fuel used in catalyticheat generation can be safely applied to an indoor application or whileinside a transport vehicle, or any small enclosure such as a tent. Allof these shortcomings, as well as, others associated with prior artcatalytic, heat generating devices, limit their applications or area ofuse.

In view of these and other problems in the prior art, it is a generalobject of the present invention to provide an improved apparatus andmethod utilizing a catalytic heat generating device that overcomes thedrawbacks relating to the compromise designs of prior art devices asdiscussed above. Another object of the present invention is to provide apassive technique, which requires no externally provided power, forpre-mixing air and fuel which will provide air to fuel equivalenceratios of one or more when coupled to reactors that have relatively highback pressures.

SUMMARY DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION

A catalytic heating system for heating a beverage or food is presentedthat comprises: a container for containing the beverage or food, and acatalytic combustion assembly for heating the container that comprises:a chamber plate integral with the bottom of the container; an elongatesidewall enclosure integral with the chamber plate, with the elongatesidewall enclosure having a fuel gas inlet and an exhaust outlet withincorresponding ends of the elongate sidewall enclosure, and with theelongate sidewall enclosure defining an enclosed catalytic combustionchamber; a catalytic reaction media disposed within the enclosedcatalytic combustion chamber, a combustion starting element disposedwithin the enclosed catalytic combustion chamber; a fuel supply assemblymounted on a fuel supply platform, with the fuel supply assembly havinga fuel and air mixing injector fluidly connected to the fuel gas inlet afuel canister sealably connected to the fuel supply platform and fluidlyconnected to the fuel supply assembly; and a fuel gas contained withinthe fuel canister. And, a shell containing the container and catalyticcombustion assembly forms the catalytic heating system for heating thebeverage or food. In operation the fuel and air mixing injector withinthe catalytic heating system can entrain the fuel gas with air andinject a fuel gas and entrained air mixture into the enclosed catalyticcombustion chamber where the combustion starting element can ignite thefuel gas and entrained air mixture, and the catalytic reaction media canmaintain a catalytic combustion process within the enclosed catalyticcombustion chamber, and the catalytic combustion process can combust allof the fuel gas and heat the container containing the beverage or food.

A method of heating a container is also presented that comprises:providing for a flow of a fuel gas, with the fuel gas having astoichiometric ratio of about 15, increasing the velocity of the flow ofthe fuel gas; entraining the flow of the fuel gas with air, therebycreating a flow of fuel gas and entrained air mixture; maintaining anentrapment ratio of about 15 or above for the flow of fuel gas andentrained air mixture; constraining the flow of fuel gas and entrainedair mixture to an enclosed curved path; contacting the flow of fuel gasand entrained air mixture with a catalytic reaction media; igniting theflow of fuel gas and entrained air mixture, thereby generating thecatalytic combustion process; combusting all of the fuel gas during thecatalytic combustion process; and conducting heat from the catalyticcombustion process to the container.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1A is a top front perspective illustration of a catalytic heatingsystem for heating a beverage or food.

FIG. 1B is a top back perspective view of the catalytic heating system.

FIG. 2 is the same perspective illustration as in FIG. 1A, with portionsof an outer shell and a container removed, showing the bottom of thecontainer for containing a beverage or food and a catalytic combustionassembly.

FIG. 3 is an exploded side view of the catalytic heating system, showingthe outer shell, the container for containing the beverage or food, andthe catalytic combustion assembly comprising a top chamber plateintegral with the bottom of the container, a bottom chamber plate, afuel supply assembly, a fuel supply platform and a fuel canister.

FIG. 4 is a bottom perspective view of the container for containing abeverage or food that more specifically illustrates the top chamberplate integral with the bottom of the container.

FIG. 5A is an exploded top perspective view of the top chamber plate andthe bottom chamber plate, illustrating that a catalytic combustionchamber can be formed when the top and bottom chamber plates are coupledtogether.

FIG. 5B is an exploded bottom perspective view of the top chamber plateand the bottom chamber plate, also illustrating that the catalyticcombustion chamber can be formed when the top and bottom chamber platesare coupled together.

FIG. 5C is a partial side view of the top and bottom chamber plates thathave been coupled together, forming the catalytic combustion chamber.

FIG. 5D is a cross-sectional view of FIG. 5C, providing a view in thedirection indicated by the arrows 5D-5D in FIG. 5C.

FIG. 5E is a top plan view of FIG. 5C with the top chamber plateremoved, providing a view in the direction indicated by the arrows 5E-5Ein FIG. 5C.

FIG. 6A and FIG. 6B illustrate a catalytic combustion chamber having aserpentine shape and having a coiled shape, respectively.

FIG. 7A and FIG. 7B are top perspective and top plan views,respectively, of the fuel supply assembly mounted on the fuel supplyplatform.

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional side view of the fuel supply platform andthe fuel canister releasably attached to the fuel supply platform.

FIG. 9A and 9B are top and bottom perspective views, respectively, of ashell lid.

FIG. 10A is a top front perspective illustration of another embodimentof the catalytic heating system for heating a beverage or food,

FIG. 108 is a top back perspective view of the other embodiment of thecatalytic heating system.

FIG. 10C is a top front perspective view of the other embodiment of thecatalytic heating system, illustrating that the system can be separatedinto an upper shell module and a bottom shell module.

FIG. 11 is the same perspective illustration as in FIG. 10A, withportions of the upper shell module and lower shell module removed,illustrating a container and a catalytic combustion assembly.

FIG. 12 is an exploded side view of the other embodiment of thecatalytic heating system, showing the upper and lower shell modules, thecontainer for containing the beverage or food, and the catalyticcombustion assembly comprising a top chamber plate coupled to a bottomchamber plate, a fuel supply assembly, a fuel supply platform and a fuelcanister.

FIG. 13 is a bottom perspective view of the container for containing abeverage or food that more specifically illustrates that the bottom ofthe container is a fiat surface, with the top chamber plate not being anintegral part of the container.

FIG. 14A is an exploded top perspective view of a top chamber plate anda bottom chamber plate, illustrating that a catalytic combustion chambercan be formed when the top and bottom chamber plates are coupledtogether.

FIG. 14B is an exploded bottom perspective view of the top chamber plateand bottom chamber plate, also Illustrating that the catalyticcombustion chamber can be formed when the top and bottom chamber platesare coupled together.

FIG. 14C is a partial side view of the top and bottom chamber platesthat have been coupled together, forming the catalytic combustionchamber,

FIG. 14D is a cross-sectional view of FIG. 14C, providing a view in thedirection indicated by the arrows 14D-14D in FIG. 14C.

FIG. 14E is a top plan view of FIG. 14C with the top chamber plateremoved, providing a view in the direction indicated by the arrows14E-14E in FIG. 14C.

FIG. 15A and FIG. 15B are top perspective and top plan views,respectively, of the fuel supply assembly mounted on live fuel supplyplatform.

FIG. 16 is a cross-sectional side view of the fuel supply platform andthe fuel canister releasably attached to the fuel supply platform

FIG. 17A and 17B are top and bottom perspective views, respectively, ofa shell lid.

FIG. 18 is a graphical representation of minimum useful ambientoperating temperature as a function of percentage of fuel remaining in afuel canister at sea level.

FIG. 19A and 19B are top front and top back perspective illustrations ofanother embodiment of the catalytic heating system for heating abeverage or food, with the heating provided by a stovetop surface.

FIG. 20 is a partial cutaway top front perspective view of theembodiment of the catalytic heating system generally illustrated in FIG.19A and FIG. 19B.

FIG. 21 is an exploded side view of the embodiment of the catalyticheating system generally illustrated in FIG. 19A and FIG. 19B.

FIG. 22A is an exploded top perspective view of a portion of thecatalytic heating system generally illustrated in FIG. 19A and 19B, andfurther illustrating that a catalytic combustion chamber can be formedwhen top and bottom chamber plates are coupled together.

FIG. 22B is an exploded bottom perspective view of a portion of thecatalytic heating system generally illustrated in FIG. 19A and 19B, andfurther illustrating that the catalytic combustion chamber can be formedwhen the top and bottom chamber plates are coupled together.

FIG. 22C is a partial side view of a portion of the catalytic heatingsystem generally illustrated in FIG. 19A and FIG. 19B, and furtherillustrating the top and bottom chamber plates coupled together to formthe catalytic combustion chamber.

FIG. 22D is a cross-sectional view of FIG. 22C, providing a view in thedirection indicated by the arrows 22D-22D in FIG. 22C,

FIG. 22E is a top plan view of FIG. 22C with the top chamber plateremoved, providing a view in the direction indicated by the arrows22E-22E in FIG. 22C.

FIG. 23A and FIG. 23B are top perspective and top plan views,respectively, of a portion of the catalytic heating system generallyillustrated in FIG. 19A and 19B, and further illustrating a fuel supplyassembly mounted on a fuel supply platform.

FIG. 24 is a cross-sectional side view of a portion of the catalyticheating system generally illustrated in FIG. 19A and 19B, and furtherillustrating a fuel canister releasably attached to the fuel supplyplatform.

FIG. 25 is a top front perspective view of the catalytic heating systemgenerally illustrated in FIG. 19A and 19B, and further illustrating apot placed on a stovetop surface integral with the top chamber plate.

FIG. 26 is a top front perspective illustration of another embodiment ofthe catalytic heating system for heating a beverage or food, with theheating provided by a stovetop surface.

FIG. 27 is a partial cutaway top front perspective view of theembodiment of the catalytic heating system generally illustrated in FIG.26.

FIG. 28 is an exploded side view of the embodiment of the catalyticheating system generally illustrated In FIG. 26.

FIG. 29A is an exploded top perspective view of a portion of thecatalytic heating system generally illustrated in FIG. 26, and furtherillustrating that a catalytic combustion chamber can be formed when topand bottom chamber plates are coupled together.

FIG. 29B is a top view of a portion of the catalytic heating systemgenerally illustrated in FIG. 26, and further illustrating a top view ofthe bottom chamber plate.

FIG. 29C is a bottom perspective view of the catalytic heating systemgenerally illustrated in FIG. 26, and further illustrating the bottomside of the bottom chamber plate.

FIG. 29D is an alternative embodiment to the top and bottom chamberplates illustrated in FIG. 29A through 29C.

FIG. 30A and FIG. 30B are top perspective and top plan views,respectively, of a portion of the catalytic heating system generallyillustrated in FIG. 26, and further illustrating a fuel supply assemblymounted on a fuel supply platform.

FIG. 31 is a cross-sectional side view of a portion of the catalyticheating system, generally illustrated in FIG. 26, and furtherillustrating a fuel canister releasably attached to the fuel supplyplatform.

FIG. 32 is a top front perspective view of the catalytic heating systemgenerally illustrated in FIG. 26, and further illustrating a pot placedon the stovetop surface integral with the top chamber plate.

FIG. 33 is a top front perspective illustration of another embodiment ofthe catalytic heating system for heating a beverage or food, with theheating provided by a stovetop surface.

FIG. 34 is a partial cutaway top front perspective view of theembodiment of the catalytic heating system generally illustrated in FIG.33.

FIG. 35 is an exploded side view of the embodiment of the catalyticheating system generally illustrated in FIG. 33

FIG. 38A is an exploded top perspective view of a portion of thecatalytic heating system generally illustrated in FIG. 33, and furtherillustrating that a catalytic combustion chamber can be formed when thetop and bottom chamber plates are coupled together.

FIG. 36B is a top view of a portion the catalytic heating systemgenerally illustrated in FIG. 33, and further illustrating a top view ofthe bottom chamber plate.

FIG. 36C is a bottom perspective view of a portion of the catalyticheating system generally illustrated in FIG. 33, and furtherillustrating the bottom side of the bottom chamber plate.

FIG. 37A and FIG. 37B are top perspective and top plan views,respectively, of a portion of the catalytic heating system generallyillustrated in FIG. 33, and further illustrating a fuel supply assemblymounted on a fuel supply platform.

FIG. 38 is a cross-sectional side view of a portion of the catalyticheating system generally illustrated in FIG. 33, and furtherillustrating a fuel canister releasably attached to the fuel supplyplatform.

BEST MODE OF CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

FIG. 1A and FIG. 18 illustrate a top front perspective view and a topback perspective view,, respectively, of a catalytic heating system 1for heating a beverage or food, with the catalytic heating system 1preferably being portable. More specifically. FIG. 1A illustrates thatthe catalytic heating system 1 comprises an outer shell 2 having acylindrically shape, a shell lid 4 removably attached to the outer shell2, a canister base 6 adjacent to the outer shell 2, an on/off button 8on an outside surface of the outer shell 2, a pan of air vents 10 forproviding air passages into the inside of the outer shell 2, and aplurality of screws 12 for attaching the outer shell 2 to a catalyticcombustion assembly 18 disposed within the outer shell 2 The catalyticcombustion assembly is described in detail below. And, FIG. 1B showsthat the outer shell 2 also contains an exhaust outlet duct 14 forproviding an exhaust passage from the inside of the outer shell 2 toatmosphere.

FIG. 2 and FIG. 3 illustrate that the outer shell 2 houses a container16 for containing a beverage or food and the catalytic combustionassembly 18 for heating the container 16 and its contents. The figuresalso show that the catalytic combustion assembly 18 comprises, a topchamber plate 20 that can be integral with the bottom of the container16; a bottom chamber plate 22 coupled to the top chamber plate 20,thereby forming an integrated chamber plate 25; a fuel supply platform24; a fuel supply assembly 26 having tubular connections to the fuelsupply platform 24 and to the bottom chamber plate 22; a fuel canister28 having the canister base 8 attached to a bottom of the fuel canister28, with the fuel canister 28 removably attached to the fuel supplyplatform 24; and dimethyl ether fuel gas 29 as the preferred fuel gas,contained in a state of compression within the fuel canister 28. Forpresent purposes, a reference to a “fuel” or a “fuel gas” means fuel ina gaseous phase, unless indicated otherwise.

The container 16 and catalytic combustion assembly 18 can be secured tothe outer shell 2 by bonding an outside top perimeter of the container16 to an inside top perimeter of the outer shell 2. And, the fuel supplyplatform 24 can be secured to the outer shell 2 by using the pluralityof screws 12 to attach an inside perimeter of the outer shell 2 to anoutside perimeter of the fuel supply platform 24. The shell lid 4 can beremovably attached to a top end of the outer shell 2 by screwing theshell lid 4, having female threads around its inside perimeter, to theouter shell 2, having male threads around its top outside perimeter. Thecontainer 16 can be any container that can conduct heat, such as a cup,mug or sauce pan; preferably the container will have a metalliccomposition. And, the outer shell 2 can be made of a thermallynon-conductive material, preferably a polymeric material; alternatively,the container 18 can have a thermally insulating layer disposed betweena sidewall 17 of the container 16 and the outer shell 2.

The components of the catalytic combustion assembly 18 are illustratedin more detail in FIG. 4 through FIG. 8. The container 16 can be sizedsuch that the top chamber plate 20 can be attached to the bottom of thecontainer 16, and in a preferred embodiment, as best shown in FIG. 4,the top chamber plate 20 is integral with the bottom perimeter of thecontainer , thereby eliminating a seam that would be formed, if the topchamber plate 20 were not integral with the bottom of the container 16,but instead was attached in some manner to the bottom perimeter of thecontainer 16. FIG. 4 and FIG. 5A through FIG. 5E further illustrate thata bottom surface of the top chamber plate 20 contains an top channel20A, also shown in FIG. 2. that is integral with the top chamber plate20 and preferably has a concave half-cylindrically shape that extendspartially above the top surface of top chamber plate 20, with the topchannel 20A also having a curved center section 20B and a pair of linearsections 20C integral with corresponding ends of the curved centersection 208 A top surface of the bottom chamber plate 22 similarlycontains a bottom channel 22A that is integral with the bottom chamberplate 22 and preferably has a concave half-cylindrically shape thatextends partially below the bottom surface of bottom chamber plate 22,with the bottom channel 22A having a curved center section 22B and apair of linear sections 22C integral with corresponding ends of thecurved center section 22B. When top and bottom chamber plates, 20 and22, are aligned in a predetermined manner and coupled together to formthe integrated chamber plate 25, top channel and bottom channel, 20A and22A, form an elongate sidewall enclosure 32, having a preferredcylindrically shape, a curved sidewall center section 32A and a pair oflinear sidewall end sections 32B integral with corresponding ends of thecurved sidewall center section 32A. The elongate sidewall enclosure 32encloses and defines an enclosed catalytic combustion chamber 30 thatextends through the elongate sidewall enclosure 32, with the chamber 30having the same curved and linear shape as the elongate sidewallenclosure 32. The elongate sidewall enclosure 32 and the enclosedcatalytic combustion chamber 30 are best illustrated in FIG. 5C throughFIG. 5E. The side view of FIG. 5C illustrates the top and bottom chamberplates, 20 and 22, after they have been coupled together forming theintegrated chamber plate 25; the cross-sectional view of FIG. 5D showsthe enclosed catalytic combustion chamber 30 enclosed within theelongate sidewall enclosure 32, with a catalytic reaction media 40 and acombustion starting element 50 (described below) removed; and the topplan view of FIG. 5E, with the top chamber plate 20 removed, furtherillustrates the enclosed catalytic combustion chamber 30, elongatesidewall enclosure 32 and the curved sidewall section 32A and pair oflinear sidewall sections 32B, also with the catalytic reaction media 40and combustion starting element 50 removed.

The elongate sidewall enclosure 32 preferably should have a diameterthat is relatively small in order to ensure that the curved portion ofthe sidewall enclosure 32 can bend in a smooth and continuous fashionwithin the coupled chamber plates 20 and 22; and in order to more evenlydistribute the heat generated from the enclosed catalytic combustionchamber 30 to the top chamber plate 20 that forms the bottom of thecontainer 16 which, in turn, provides for a more even distribution ofheat to the beverage or food. At the same time, however, the elongatesidewall enclosure 32 should have a diameter and total length that arelarge enough to contain a sufficient quantity of catalytic reactionmedia 40 over the length of the elongate sidewall enclosure 32 toproduce a sufficient amount of heat to effectively heat the top chamberplate and the beverage or food within container 16. Given theseconsiderations, the inventors have determined that the elongate sidewallenclosure 32 preferably should have a diameter of about 10 millimetersor less, and more preferably between about 5 and 10 millimeters. Theelongate sidewall enclosure 32 also has a flow-through fuel gas inlet32C within one end of the sidewall enclosure 32 and a flow-throughexhaust outlet 32D within the other end of the sidewall enclosure 32,with the sidewall enclosure 32 having no other flow-through openingswithin the sidewall enclosure 32. And, as shown in FIG. 5A and FIG. 5B aflow-through fuel gas inlet elbow 34 and a flow-through exhaust outletelbow 36 are sealably disposed within the flow-through fuel gas inlet32C and the flow-through exhaust outlet 320. respectively. Theflow-through exhaust outlet elbow 36 also has a tubular connection 37with the exhaust outlet duct 14 within the outer shell 2. The tubularconnection 37 effectively extends the enclosed length of the elongatesidewall enclosure 32 from the flow-through exhaust outlet 320 ofsidewall enclosure 32 to the exhaust outlet duct 14.

It is preferred that the top and bottom chamber plates, 20 and 22, canbe coupled together by utilizing a plurality of binder posts 3B, withtop portions of the binder posts 38 disposed within correspondingopenings the top chamber plate 20, with bottom portions of the binderposts 38 disposed within corresponding openings through the bottomchamber plate 22, and with bottom ends of the binder posts 38, whichextend away from the bottom surface of the bottom chamber plate 22, usedto couple the top chamber plate 20 to the bottom chamber plate 22 byflattening the ends of the binder posts 38 against the bottom surface ofthe chamber plate 22. Preferably, the top and bottom chamber plates. 20and 22, have a metallic composition.

Before the enclosed catalytic combustion chamber 30 is formed bycoupling the top and bottom chamber plates, 20 and 22, the catalyticreaction media 40 preferably can be positioned in a curved orientation,as shown in FIG. 5A, within the curved section 22B of bottom channel22A. Alternatively, the catalytic reaction media 40 can be positioned ina curved and linear orientation within the curved section 22B of bottomchannel 22A and within the pair of linear sections 22C of bottom channel22A. Although the figure shows that a center top half of the catalyticreaction media 40 has been removed, this is only for the purpose ofrevealing a curved passage 42 that extends lengthwise through theinterior of the catalytic reaction media 40. As also shown in FIG. 5Aand FIG. 5B, a combustion starting element 50, preferably made from anarrow gage resistance wire alloy, such as Nichrome 60. Nichrome 80 orKanthal, can be disposed lengthwise through a center portion of thecatalytic reaction media 40, with one end 50A of the combustion startingelement 50 disposed through an opening within the curved bottom channel22A and another end SOB of the starting element 50 disposed throughanother opening through the curved bottom channel 22A, and with a centerportion 50C of the combustion starting element 50 disposed through thecurved passage 42 within the catalytic reaction media 40. Preferably, asillustrated in FIG. 5A. the center portion 50C of the combustionstarting element 50 is coiled, which causes the combustion startingelement 50 to attain a higher ignition temperature for a given amount ofelectrical power than would otherwise exist if the combustion startingelement 50 were not coiled. The ends, 50A and 50B, of the combustionstarting element 50 are in electronic connection with a programmedmicroprocessor 60 which, when activated, supplies electrical currentfrom a battery 76, such as a lithium polymer type battery, to thecombustion starting element 50. Alternatively, the combustion startingelement 50 can be a spark ignition system comprising a pair of wiresdisposed within a lengthwise opening within the catalytic reaction media40, with the pair of wires separated by a predetermined distance withinthe opening. A large transient electric voltage is formed between thewires using techniques well known to those skilled in the art such asutilizing a piezoelectric crystal that can produce a substantial voltagewhen squeezed by mechanical means. The resulting large voltage causesthe discharge of a spark between the pair of wires that ignites thecatalytic reaction media 40. And, as shown in FIG. 5A through FIG. 5E,in order to ensure that the catalytic combustion process is confined tothe enclosed catalytic combustion chamber 30, sealing members 52 and 54can be disposed within corresponding seating channels 52A and 54A withinthe top surface of the bottom chamber plate 22, with the sealing channel52A concentrically positioned outside of bottom channel 22A and sealingchannel 54A concentrically positioned Inside of bottom channel 22A. Inaddition, a pair of O-rings 56 can be utilized to further ensure thatthe catalytic combustion process is confined to the enclosed catalyticcombustion chamber 30, with one of the pair O-rings 58 disposed around aportion of flow-through fuel gas Inlet elbow 34 and the other O-ringdisposed around a portion of the flow-through exhaust outlet elbow 36.

Once the catalytic reaction media 40 and combustion element 50 arepositioned within the curved bottom channel 22 A and the top chamberplate 20 is coupled to the bottom chamber plate 22, the catalyticreaction media 40 and the combustion element 50 are captured in a curvedorientation within the curved sidewall section 32A of the elongatesidewall enclosure 32, thereby defining the enclosed catalyticcombustion chamber 30 as having the same shape as the elongate sidewallenclosure 32 In this regard, a curved elongate shape for the enclosedcatalytic combustion chamber 30 is preferred in order to more evenlydistribute the heat from the combustion chamber 30 to the top chamberplate 20 and, thereby, provide for a more even distribution of heat tothe beverage or food within container 16. And, the most preferred curvedelongate shape for the enclosed catalytic combustion chamber 30 is acurvature having a constant radius of curvature (hereinafter referred toas a “circular curvature”), providing a smooth and continuous surfacewithin the combustion chamber 30. Although the enclosed catalyticcombustion chamber 30 having a circular curvature is preferred, othercurved catalytic combustion chamber shapes could be utilized. Forexample, a serpentine shape within a chamber plate 25′, as illustratedin FIG. 6A, or a coiled shape within a chamber plate 25″, as shown inFIG. 6B, have shapes that are similarly smooth and continuous.

While there are several types of catalytic reaction media known in theart, the catalytic reaction media 40 preferably is an open cell metalfoam substrate, combined with a wash coat and an active catalyst. It hasbeen discovered that the use of an open cell metal foam substrateconstructed from an iron, chromium, aluminum and yttrium alloy, underthe trade name Fecralloy® or Kanthal® and manufactured by Porvair, Inc.,provides an ideal substrate material for the catalytic reaction media40. Metal foam substrates tend to have very high surface area to volumeratios and very high porosities. The first property is important toenhance the number of catalyst sites per unit volume, which affects thecatalytic space velocity (i.e. quotient of the entering volumetric flowrate of the reactants divided by the reactor volume) in the enclosedcatalytic combustion chamber 30 and the second property helps tominimize the pressure drop within the enclosed catalytic combustionchamber 30. The particular type of metal foam fabrication technique isimportant in determining the properties that make for an optimumcatalyst media. Metal foams can be constructed by several techniquessuch as sintering or investment casting. The heat transport propertiesof metal foams made by sintering are very different than those made byinvestment casting and are far less costly. Sintered metal foams, suchas the ones manufactured by Porvair Inc., have a unique micro-structurethat resembles interconnected open cells in the shape of dodecahedrons.The cells are constructed of a series of interconnected metal struts. Across-section of each strut would show it to be a hollow shell. Theresulting light mass allows the material to reach high temperatures withvery little energy input. This in turn helps to minimize the energyrequired by the starter filament to start the reaction. The metalsubstrate is traditionally given a wash-coat of some very high surfacearea material (e.g. gamma alumina) upon which a catalyst is deposited(e.g. Platinum). The Fecralloy® alloy contains aluminum, which under asuitable heat treatment will be driven to the surface where it isconverted to alumina when exposed to a high temperature oxidizingatmosphere. The conversion to alumina provides a bonding interface if analumina wash coat is utilized. However, it has been discovered that twoadditional properties exist that can be used advantageously when theFecralloy® alloy is used as the catalytic reaction media 40. The firstproperty is that the self-generating aluminum oxide film can act as itsown wash coat, albeit of less surface area than a traditional gammaalumina wash coat. In some catalytic reactor designs this may provide anadequate catalyst site attachment points and consequently sufficientcatalyst activity levels. By eliminating the traditional wash-coat step,costs are reduced. The second surprising additional property is that theFecralloy material, after heat treating to induce a native film ofaluminum oxide, appears to have a certain amount of inherent catalyticactivity on its own, without adding additional catalysts. This furtherreduces costs by reducing the amount of additional catalyst required toattain a specific space velocity. Although alumina coated cell foamsubstrates coaled with an active catalyst are preferred, other catalyticreaction can also be used. For instance, free standing porous aluminasubstrates coated with an active combustion catalysts or flow-throughmonoliths such as wash coated cordierite with and active catalystcoating could be used as well.

FIG. 7A and FIG. 7B more specifically illustrate the fuel supplyassembly 26 that is mounted on a topside of the fuel supply platform 24.The fuel supply assembly 26 comprises the following fuel supplycomponents: a fuel gas compression fitting 62 having a compressionfitting and tap for use in fluidly connecting the fuel supply assembly26 to the fuel canister 28, containing the dimethyl ether fuel gas 29; aliquid/gas separator 64, which could be, but not limited to, a porousoleophobic membrane such as “Supor R” made by Pall Corporation, having atubular connection through tube 28A with the fuel gas compressionfitting 62, with the liquid/gas separator 64 for removing any dimethylether fuel gas 29 that is in liquid form; a pressure regulator 66, suchas an ultra-miniature regulator from the “PR-MIS” model series byBeswick Engineering, having a tubular connection through tube 26B withthe liquid/gas separator 64, with the pressure regulator 66 formaintaining the pressure of the dimethyl ether fuel gas 29 at apredetermined level; a solenoid valve 68, such as the “LHL” series fromthe Lee Company, having a tubular connection through tube 26C with thepressure regulator 66, with the solenoid valve 68 for opening and dosingthe flow of dimethyl ether fuel gas 29 through the fuel supply assembly26; a fuel and air mixing injector 70, such as a venturi injector,having a tubular connection through tube 260 with the solenoid valve 88,with the fuel and air injector 70 for injecting the dimethyl ether fuelgas 29 and entrained air mixture into the enclosed catalytic combustionchamber 30; a temperature sensor 72A attached to the bottom surface ofthe bottom chamber plate 22 for sensing the temperature within theenclosed catalytic combustion chamber 30; and a temperature sensor 72Battached to the outside surface of the sidewall 17 of container 16 forsensing the temperature of the container 16. And, the fuel supplyassembly 26 is connected to the enclosed catalytic combustion chamber 30by inserting a top end of the fuel and air mixing injector 70 into theflow-through fuel gas inlet elbow 34 in tubular connection with theenclosed catalytic combustion chamber 30.

The fuel supply assembly 26 further comprises the programmedmicroprocessor 60 that is attached to and in electrical connection to acircuit board 74 that is mounted on the top side of the fuel supplyplatform 24. A battery 76, such as a lithium polymer type GM502030 fromPowerStream Technology, Inc., can also be attached to and in electricalconnection to the circuit board 74; or the battery 76 can be attached toany other appropriate location within the catalytic combustion assembly18 or within the outer shell 2 surrounding the catalytic combustionchamber 18. The battery 76 supplies electrical power to the programmedmicroprocessor 60 when the on/off button 8 is in the “on” position anddisconnects electrical power when the on/off button 8 is in the offposition. When activated, the programmed microprocessor 60, with inputsfrom the temperature sensors 72A and 72B, controls the functionality ofthe solenoid valve 68 in order to control the fuel gas flow rate andtemperature within the enclosed catalytic combustion chamber 30. Theactivated programmed microprocessor 60 also supplies electrical power tothe combustion starting element 50, which the microprocessor 60coordinates with the supply of fuel gas to the enclosed catalyticcombustion chamber 30 by opening and closing the solenoid valve 68.

The cross-sectional side view presented in FIG. 8 illustrates that fuelcanister 28 can contain the dimethyl ether fuel gas 29 and that the fuelcanister 28 can be releasably connected to the fuel supply platform 24.In order to facilitate the connection, the fuel supply platform 24comprises a platform receptacle 78, integral with an underside of thefuel supply platform 24, that contains a platform receptacle opening 80leading to a cylindrically shaped cavity 82, with the cavity 82 having:female threads extending distally from the opening 80; an inner O-ring84 disposed within the cavity 82 and positioned distally from the femalethreads; and an outer O-ring 86 disposed a round an outside surface ofthe platform receptacle 78. The fuel canister 28 contains a fuel flowvalve 88, integral with the top of the fuel canister 28, and having malethreads that can be used to connect the fuel canister 28 to the fuelsupply platform 24 by screwing the fuel flow valve 88 into the platformreceptacle 78. This action causes; 1) the tap within the fuel gascompression fitting 62 to open the fuel flow valve 88, thereby allowingthe dimethyl ether fuel gas 29, which has been compressed within thefuel canister 28, to flow from the fuel canister 28 into the fuel supplyassembly 26; and 2) an outside surface of the fuel canister 28 to engagethe outer O-Ring 86 and the fuel flow valve 88 to engage the innerO-ring 84, thereby preventing dimethyl ether fuel gas 29 within the fuelcanister 28 from escaping to atmosphere.

FIG. 9A and 9B illustrate in more detail that the top of the shell lid 4contains a flow opening 4A for allowing a beverage contained within thecontainer 16 to flow out of the container 16 and into a flow guide 4Bfor channeling the flow of a beverage from the container 16. A shellslider valve 4C can be operated within a shell slider valve retainer 4Dto open the shell slider valve 4C in order to allow the beverage to flowout of the container 16 or to close the shell slider valve 4C to preventthe beverage from flowing out of the container 16.

Specifically, operation of the catalytic heating system 1 can proceed byproviding a flow of the dimethyl ether fuel gas 29 by attaching the fuelcanister 28, containing the dimethyl ether fuel gas 29, to the fuelsupply platform 24, by screwing the fuel flow valve 88 into the platformreceptacle 78, which causes the tap within the fuel gas compressionfitting 62 to open the fuel flow valve 86 and causes the dimethyl etherfuel gas 29 within the fuel canister 28 to flow through compressionfitting 62 and into the fuel supply assembly 26. The dimethyl ether fuelgas 29 will initially flow through the liquid/gas separator 64, whereany fuel gas in liquid form will be removed, and then flow through thepressure regulator 66 that will maintain the fuel gas below apredetermined pressure, and continue flowing until it reaches thesolenoid valve 68. With the on/off button 8 in the “off” position, thesolenoid valve 68 will be closed, which prevents the dimethyl ether fuelgas 29 from flowing into the fuel and air mixing injector 70. Next thecatalytic heating system 1 can be operated to heat a beverage or foodby, if necessary, removing the shell lid 4 by unscrewing it from itsengagement with the top of the outer shell 2. A beverage or food canthen be placed into the container 16 and the shell lid 4 reattached tothe outer shell 2. The catalytic combustion process that is utilized toheat the beverage or food is initiated by depressing the on/off button 8to the “on” position, which activates the programmed microprocessor 80by closing the circuit connection between the battery 78 and programmedmicroprocessor 60. At a predetermined time after activation, theprogrammed microprocessor 60 causes the solenoid valve 68 to open,causing the dimethyl ether fuel gas 29 to flow into the fuel and airmixing injector 70. As the dimethyl ether fuel gas 29 flows through thefuel and air mixing injector 70, the velocity of the fuel gas flow 29will increase due to the distal narrowing of the injector 70. Increasingthe velocity of the dimethyl ether fuel gas 29 causes the pressure inthe fuel and air mixing injector 70 to decrease, thereby entraining thedimethyl ether fuel gas 29 with atmospheric air in order to produce adimethyl ether fuel gas and entrained air mixture, while maintaining anentrapment ratio of about 15 or more parts air to about one partdimethyl ether fuel gas 29 for the mixture. The dimethyl ether fuel gasand the entrained air mixture is injected by the fuel and air mixinginjector 70 into the flow-through fuel gas inlet elbow 34 and then intothe elongate sidewall enclosure 32 defining the enclosed catalyticcombustion chamber 30, thereby constraining the flow of the mixturethough the enclosed catalytic combustion chamber 30 to the curved andlinear path best illustrated in FIG. 5B. While the flow of the dimethylether fuel gas 29 and entrained air mixture is flowing through theenclosed catalytic combustion chamber 30, additional actions thatcontribute to the generation of the catalytic combustion process are:contacting the dimethyl ether fuel gas 29 and entrained air mixture withthe catalytic reaction media 40 and the combustion starting element 50;activating the programmed microprocessor 60 to cause an electricalcurrent to be supplied to the combustion starting element 50, whichcauses the combustion starting element 50 to heat up, thereby ignitingthe flow of dimethyl ether fuel and entrained air mixture and generatingthe catalytic combustion process within the catalytic reaction media 40within enclosed catalytic combustion chamber 30. Importantly, thiscatalytic combustion process within the enclosed catalytic combustionchamber 30 can completely combust all of the dimethyl ether fuel gas 29.The heat generated by the catalytic combustion process causes the topchannel 20A and top chamber plate 20 to heat up by conducting heat awayfrom the catalytic combustion chamber: which in turn heats the container18 and the beverage or food within the container 16. Exhaust generatedfrom the catalytic combustion process passes through the flow-throughexhaust outlet elbow 36. through the tubular connection 37 between theoutlet elbow 36 and the exhaust outlet duct 14 within the outer shell 2,and out the exhaust outlet duct 14.

In addition to the advantages relating to the size and shape of theelongate sidewall enclosure 32 described above, the catalytic heatingsystem 1 provides another beneficial feature related the combustion ofthe dimethyl ether fuel gas 29 and entrained air mixture within theenclosed catalytic combustion chamber 30. In particular, catalyticcombustion process within the enclosed catalytic combustion chamber 30is confined to the enclosed catalytic combustion chamber 30 defined bythe elongate sidewall enclosure 32, with the only openings within thesidewall enclosure 32 being the flow-through fuel gas inlet 32C at oneend of the sidewall enclosure 32 and the flow-through exhaust outlet 320within the opposite end of the sidewall enclosure 32. This featureprovides for a controllable and safe combustion process, including thefeature of being able to safely transport all of the exhaust from thecatalytic combustion through a single flow-through outlet to theenvironment outside of the catalytic heating system 1.

An inherent thermodynamically related limitation to the ability toachieve the complete combustion of all of the fuel gas in a catalyticcombustion chamber is that the combustion process itself generates anamount of pressure in the chamber, generally referred to as “backpressure”, that can prevent complete combustion of the fuel gas. Otherfactors that can also contribute to an increase in back pressure arerelated to fluid mechanical limitations involving the geometry of thecombustion chamber. In this regard, it is to be reasonably expected thata catalytic combustion process within the enclosed catalytic combustionchamber 30 within catalytic heating system 1 would produce more backpressure than would be expected from the catalytic process itself. Thisexpected increase In back pressure is due to the unique geometry of theenclosed catalytic combustion chamber 30. defined by the partiallycurved and cylindrical shaped elongate sidewall enclosure 32, and due tothe fact that the sidewall enclosure 32 has a single flow-through fuelgas inlet 32C and single flow-through exhaust outlet 32D, with no otherflow-through openings within the sidewall enclosure 32. And, in fact, aswill be described in more detail below, during the development of mecatalytic heating system 1, the inventors determined that neither butanenor propane could be used to overcome the back pressure generated in theenclosed catalytic combustion chamber 30 and achieve the completecombustion of the fuel gas. Achieving complete combustion of the fuelgas in the enclosed catalytic combustion chamber 30 is important becauseincomplete combustion results in the inefficient utilization of the fuelgas and due to the fact that incomplete combustion can also releasetoxic substances into the environment and potentially inhaled by a userof the catalytic heating system 1.

From a fluid mechanics standpoint, one way to overcome back pressure andobtain complete combustion of the fuel gas within the enclosed catalyticcombustion chamber 30 within the catalytic heating system 1 is to reducethe total amount of work energy required to overcome both the backpressure and the energy needed to carry large quantities of entrainedair through the combustion chamber 30 and out the exhaust. A fixedamount of kinetic and potential energy is imparted to the fuel gasstream as it first enters the fuel and air mixing injector 70. Theamount of energy the fuel gas stream obtains as it enters mixinginjector 70 is dependent upon the fuel gas pressure, the density of thefuel gas, and the geometry (i.e. size and shape) of the mixing injector70 orifice. With these principals in mind, the inventors of thecatalytic heating system 1 carried out experiments to determine ifcomplete combustion in the enclosed catalytic combustion chamber 30could be attained using either butane or propane, which are the fuelgases used in other portable heating devices for heating beverages orfood. In order to achieve a complete combustion of the butane fuel gas,the stoichiometric ratio of butane, about 32 parts of air to one part offuel, requires the fuel and air mixing injector 70 to produce a butanefuel gas and entrained air mixture having an entrapment ratio also ofabout 32 or more parts of air to one part of fuel. Similarly, in orderto achieve a complete combustion of the propane fuel gas, thestoichiometric ratio of propane, about 25 parts air to one part fuel,dictates that the fuel and air mixing injector 70 produce a propane fuelgas and entrained air mixture having an entrainment ratio also of about25 parts or more of air to one part of fuel In their experiments,however, the inventors found that it was not possible to overcome backpressure and achieve complete combustion within the enclosed catalyticcombustion chamber 30 using butane or propane as a fuel source. It wasbelieved that this might have been due, at least in part, to the factthat attaining complete combustion using butane or propane as the fuelgas with the catalytic heating system 1 requires that air comprise asubstantially greater percentage of the fuel gas and entrained airmixture due to the relatively high stoichiometric air to fuel ratios ofthese fuels. This in turn requires the fuel and air mixing injector 70to provide relatively high entrainment ratios. The high entrainmentratios required by butane and propane contributes to a substantialincrease in the work energy required to entrain air within the fuel andair mixing injector 70, leaving less energy available to perform thework necessary to flow the fuel and entrained air mixture through theenclosed catalytic combustion chamber 30. This explains, at least inpart, the inability to overcome back pressures that can arise within theenclosed catalytic combustion chamber 30 when butane or propane is usedas the fuel gas source.

A potential solution to this inability to overcome back pressure andachieve the complete combustion within the catalytic heating system 1would be to use a different fuel having a lower stoichiometric ratio,allowing for a lower entrainment ratio required to achieve completecombustion in the enclosed catalytic combustion chamber 30. The idealfuel gas would be one with a stoichiometric air to fuel ratio lower thanthe stoichiometric air to fuel ratios of butane or propane that would,therefore, give rise to less kinetic energy required to entrain airinjected by the fuel and air mixing injector 70 into the enclosedcatalytic combustion chamber 30, while still providing the samebeneficial properties of butane and propane, such as being readilystored in a liquid state at pressures and temperatures compatible withportable consumer products. In fact the inventors experimentallydetermined that dimethyl ether fuel gas 29 unexpectedly producessufficient kinetic energy of the fuel gas to entrain an adequate amountof air as it exits the fuel and air mixing injector 70 and still havesufficient amount of kinetic energy remaining to overcome back pressureand achieve complete combustion within the enclosed catalytic combustionchamber 30.

In order to achieve a complete combustion of the dimethyl ether fuel gas28 within the enclosed catalytic combustion chamber 30, thestoichiometric ratio of the dimethyl ether, about 15 parts of air to onepart of fuel, requires the fuel and air mixing injector 70 to produce adimethyl ether fuel gas 29 and entrained air mixture that has anentrainment ratio of about 15 or more parts of air to one part of fuel.In this regard, given identical flow through conditions within the fueland air mixing injector 70, the inventors determined that, based uponfluid mechanical principles, the exit velocities from the mixinginjector 70 for all three gasses should be within about 10% of eachother. Thus, the kinetic energy available for driving the flow of fuelgas and entrained air mixture through the enclosed catalytic combustionchamber 30 should be roughly similar for each gas. As a result, theinventors hypothesized that dimethyl ether might have enough kineticenergy available to outperform butane and propane and possibly be ableto overcome enough back pressure within enclosed catalytic combustionchamber 30 to achieve the complete combustion of the dimethyl ether. Infact, in experiments carried out by the inventors, they confirmed thattheir hypothesis was correct in that the experiments demonstrated notonly was the utilization of dimethyl ether able to overcome more backpressure than butane and propane but that the complete combustion of thedimethyl ether was surprisingly achieved in the combustion chamber 30within the catalytic heating system 1. The specific results of theinventors' experiments are summarized in the Table I below:

TABLE I COMPARISON OF EXCESS AIR WITH FIXED VENTURI INJECTOR DESIGNUNDER IDENTICAL REACTION CHAMBER CONDITIONS STOICHIO- METRIC FUEL GASAIR-FUEL DENSITY FUEL GAS RATIO (at STP) EXCESS AIR Dimethyl Ether 15 to1 2.055 [g/l] Positive 10% Butane 32.5 to 1  2.593 [g/l] Negative 30%Propane 25 to 1 1.967 [g/l] Negative 15%

As shown in the table, the inventors measured the quantity of air thatwas contained in the exhaust from using dimethyl ether, butane, andpropane as the fuel gases that were combusted within in the catalyticcombustion process within the catalytic heating system 1 as describedabove. In this regard, the specific dimensions for the cylindricalshaped elongate sidewall enclosure 32, enclosing and defining theenclosed catalytic combustion chamber 30, utilized in the experimentswere the following: diameter=6.3 mm; radius of circular curvature=16.5mm; length of circular curvature=50 mm; length of each linear section=4mm; and overall length of the elongate enclosure from the fuel gas inletto the exhaust outlet duct=85 mm. The catalytic combustion processutilizing dimethyl ether generated an exhaust containing about 10% moreair than required to maintain a complete combustion of the dimethylether in the enclosed catalytic combustion chamber 30, establishing thatall of tee dimethyl ether was combusted. The results for butane andpropane, however, demonstrate that butane and propane generated 30% and15% less air, respectively, than would have been required to completelycombust those fuel gasses, meaning that not all of the butane or propanewas completely combusted.

Another unexpected result of using dimethyl ether fuel gas 29 as thefuel source for the catalytic heating system 1 arises from thermodynamicconsiderations that pertain to light-off temperature, which is oftendefined as the temperature, often abbreviated as T₅₀ , at which 50% ofthe fuel gas has been combusted within the combustion chamber. Since thelight-off temperature of dimethyl ether is significantly lower than thelight-off temperature of butane and propane, complete combustion ofdimethyl ether in a catalytic combustion process occurs at asignificantly lower temperature than either butane or propane, whichalso indicates that the complete combustion of dimethyl ether generatesless back pressure that butane or propane. As a result the combinationof a low entrainment ratio and a low light-off temperature can beexpected to work together to reduce back pressure within the enclosedcatalytic combustion chamber 30.

In addition, the ability to achieve complete combustion of the dimethylether fuel gas 29 in the enclosed catalytic combustion chamber 30 givesrise to another unexpected result related to potential flame propagationwithin the combustion chamber 30. In any catalytic reaction processwithin a combustion chamber it is important to limit or prevent flamegeneration inside or outside of the chamber. For example, if acombustible mixture of fuel gas and air were to accumulate in a regionoutside of the reaction chamber it would be desirable to Insure that noflame could be generated as a result of the catalytic reaction occurringwithin the reaction chamber. Similarly, if the temperature within thereaction chamber were to reach levels at or above the lowest temperatureat which the fuel gas will spontaneously ignite without an externalsource for ignition, generally referred to as the “auto-ignitiontemperature”, flame propagation events could become more likely andshould be prevented. In this regard, it has been reported that in orderto achieve this result the chamber geometry should have certaindimensional relationships. In particular, reaction chambers, like theenclosed catalytic combustion chamber 30 that are elongated andcylindrical shaped, surprisingly provide the foundation for limiting orpreventing flame propagation events. In this regard, an importantparameter related to the shape of the reaction chamber is the criticalflame quenching diameter. Cylindrical chambers with diameters below thiscritical value will not allow flames to propagate, and it is generallyknown that quenching diameters for most hydrocarbon fuels, includingdimethyl ether, are in the range of about 10 millimeters or less formixtures that have an air to fuel equivalence ration of between about0.6 and 1.0 (e.g., Proceedings of the International Conference on HeatTransfer and Fluid Flow, Prague, Czech Republic. Aug. 11-12, 2014, PaperNo. 36:“Quenching Distance and Quenching Diameter Ratio for FlamePropagating in Propane/Air mixtures”, by Arthur N. Gutkowski and TeresaParra Santos). This critical flame quenching diameter unexpectedlyoverlaps the preferred diameter of the elongate enclosure 32 enclosingthe combustion chamber 30 of between 5 and 10 millimeters. Morespecifically, by simply specifying that the elongate enclosure 32preferably has a diameter of about between 5 and 10 millimeters, thecatalytic heating system 1 is able to surprisingly achieve the unrelatedfavorable effects of: 1) an evenly distributed heating pattern forheating the beverage or food and simultaneously fill the enclosedcatalytic combustion chamber 30 with a sufficient amount of catalyticreaction media 40 to achieve an adequate heating power to heat thebeverage or food; and 2) preventing or limiting flame propagation withinthe enclosed catalytic combustion chamber 30.

Although dimethyl ether is known to be useful as a fuel source in somecontexts, the fuel is not disclosed as a fuel source in a catalyticcombustion application as disclosed by the catalytic heating system and1. And, there are reasons why persons skilled in the art of open flamedevices have utilized fuels like butane and propane; rather thandimethyl ether as a potential fuel gas source. One such reason is thatdimethyl ether has an energy density of about 68,930 BTU/cubic foot,which is notably less than the energy densities of butane and propane,with butane having an energy density of about 94,000 BTU/cubic foot andpropane having an energy density of about 84,250 BTU/cubic foot. Sincedevices for heating beverages and food have limited amounts of storedfuel gas, it is desirable to use fuel gases like butane and propane withhigh energy densities so that sufficient heating can be produced with aminimum amount of fuel. Dimethyl ether, with its lower energy density,would most likely not be considered as a suitable alternative. Theinventors have surprisingly discovered, however, that due to thecombination of dimethyl ether's relatively low light-off temperature,low stoichiometric air to fuel ratio, and a more ideal vapor pressurecharacteristic, these advantages outweigh the potential disadvantage ofthe lower energy density of dimethyl ether as a fuel gas utilized in thecatalytic heating system and 1.

Another reason that dimethyl ether might not be considered as anacceptable fuel source is that ether compounds are generally known tohave the characteristic of forming dangerous peroxide compounds whenexposed to air. However, the inventors of the catalytic heating system 1have determined that dimethyl ether does not exhibit thatcharacteristic.

In addition to having a relatively low entrainment ratio and light-offtemperature that combine to achieve complete combustion within thecatalytic heating system 1, the utilization of dimethyl ether fuel gas29 as the fuel source for the catalytic heating system 1 has otherunexpected advantages over other fuel gases like butane and propane. Onesuch advantage is that the use of the dimethyl ether fuel gas 29; allowsthe catalytic heating system 1 to be operated at altitudes above sealevel, while still achieving complete combustion. This advantage can beimplemented by setting the fuel and air mixing injector 70 to injectless fuel gas into the enclosed catalytic combustion chamber 30, causingthe chamber 30 to receive a fuel gas and entrained air mixture having anentrainment ratio somewhat higher than the ratio needed for achievingcomplete combustion in the chamber 30 at sea level Although the “lean”fuel gas condition would prevent the consumption of all of the airinjected into the chamber 30, complete combustion of the fuel gas wouldstill be achieved. Then, as the catalytic heating system 1 is operatedat increasingly higher altitudes above sea level, the fuel and airmixing injector 70 will increasingly deliver a richer mixture of air andfuel gas, until reaching an altitude where the mixture will produce astoichiometric condition, where all of the air and fuel gas are beingutilized in a complete combustion process within the enclosed catalyticcombustion chamber 30. Fuel gases, such as butane and propane, thatrequire a higher entrainment ratio at sea level than dimethyl ether willnot be able to achieve a stoichiometric condition at an altitude as highas that achievable by dimethyl ether. Thus, the catalytic heating system1 that utilizes the dimethyl ether fuel gas 29 as its fuel source issurprisingly more useful over a greater range of altitudes above sealevel than other fuels having higher entrainment ratios.

The catalytic heating system 1 has still other surprising advantagesover other devices that use butane or propane to heat beverages or food.Dimethyl ether has a useful working pressure at lower ambienttemperatures than butane, thus, enhancing the usefulness of dimethylether in outdoor applications. And, although propane can be used atlower temperatures, it cannot be used in lighter weight and lessexpensive canisters mat comply with Department of Transportationregulation DOT 2Q but must be used in much heavier and more costlycanisters. Dimethyl ether, on the other hand, can be used in canistersthat comply with the regulation and at a lower cost.

In this regard, a common approach to improve the useful working pressureat lower ambient temperatures is to combine a mix of high and lowboiling point liquefied gases. The graph depicted in FIG. 18 plotsminimum useful ambient temperature as a function of percentage of fuelremaining in the canister at sea level, with “minimum usefultemperature” being defined as the temperature below which the canisterpressure is no longer sufficient to deliver the fuel gas at a suitablerate to the reaction chamber to obtain a targeted amount of heat power.Specifically, the graph illustrates that although mixed fuel gasformulations will provide good low temperature performance when thecanister is full, the higher boiling point gas (i.e. propane) will leavethe canister at a faster rate, eventually leaving behind mostly lowboiling point gases (i.e. butane), Using pure propone or other similarhigh boiling point liquefied fuel gas would require much heavier andmore expensive canisters. Canisters currently used by the aerosolindustry would not provide an acceptable solution because propane'sequilibrium vapor pressure exceeds both DOT and European safetyspecifications. The graph also shows, however, that dimethyl ether notonly meets these specifications but provides both good low temperatureperformance and a steady performance as the canisters fuel is depleted.

The catalytic heating system 1 for heating a beverage or food is alsosubstantially safer than flame based systems used for the same purposes.Flame based systems obviously present a potential that the open flamecould ignite flammable objects in the environment. For example, if aflame based device tips over inside a camping tent, it will almostcertainly start a fire inside the tent if the flame contacts a sleepingbag or clothing. Since the catalytic combustion process that takes placein the catalytic heating system 1 does not generate a flame and burns amuch lower temperature than a flame based system, it is much less likelyto start a fire under the same conditions.

Another surprising advantage of the catalytic heating system 1 is thatthe fuel supply assembly 26 and electronic components, comprising theprogrammed microprocessor 60 and battery 76, are all mounted on the fuelsupply platform 24. The advantage of this feature is that when the fuelcanister 28 releases the dimethyl ether fuel gas 29 into fuel supplyassembly 26, the Joule-Thompson effect, which occurs during expansion ofmost gases, including dimethyl ether, cools the fuel supply assembly 28and fuel supply platform 24, which, in turn, cool down the circuit board74 containing the microprocessor 60 and battery 76. Consequentially, thedistance between the fuel supply platform 24 and the bottom chamberplate 22 only needs to be sufficient to make room for the fuel supplyassembly 26, without concern that the convective and radiant heat fromthe bottom chamber plate 22 will cause an overheating of the circuitboard 74 and its electronic components. This cooling effect unexpectedlyallows for a more compact design for the catalytic heating system 1.

In an another embodiment, a catalytic heating system 100 for heating abeverage or food as described is described in FIG. 10A through FIG. 17B.The primary difference between the catalytic heating system 100 and thecatalytic heating system 1 is that m the catalytic heating system 1 thecontainer 16 for containing a beverage or food is integral with the topchamber plate 20 within the catalytic combustion assembly 18, and thecontainer is not intended to be used separately from the catalyticcombustion assembly 18. However, in the catalytic heating system 100, acontainer 120 for containing a beverage or food is not integral with acatalytic combustion assembly 122 and is intended, if desired, to beused separately from the catalytic combustion assembly 122. With respectto the similarities between the figures illustrating catalyticcombustion assemblies, 18 and 122, the only difference between thecomponent parts illustrated in FIG. 5A through FIG. 5E and thoseillustrated in FIG. 14A through FIG. 14E is that the top channel 124Adisclosed in FIG. 14A through FIG. 14E does not extend above the topsurface of top chamber plate 124, which as a result is slightly thickerthan top chamber plate 20A disclosed in FIG. 5A through 5E. With respectto the component parts of FIG. 15A through FIG. 17B, they are identicalto FIG. 7A through 9B. And, although the component identificationnumbers for the corresponding sets of figures are not the same, thecorresponding components are identical. For example, a fuel supplyassembly 130 illustrated in FIG. 16A and FIG. 15B pertaining to thecatalytic heating system 100 is identical to fuel supply assembly 26illustrated in FIG. 7A and FIG. 7B pertaining to catalytic heatingsystem 1.

FIG. 10A and 10B illustrate a top front perspective view and a top backperspective view, respectively, of a catalytic heating system 100 forheating a beverage or food, with the catalytic heating system 100preferably being portable. More specifically, FIG. 10A illustrates thatthe catalytic heating system 100 comprises an upper shell module 102having cylindrically shape and a lower shell module 104 also having acylindrically shape. The catalytic heating system 100 further comprisesa shell lid 108 removably attached to the upper shell module 102, acanister base 110 adjacent to the lower shell module 104, an on/oftbutton 112 on an outside surface of the lower shell module 104, a pairof air vents 114 providing air passages into the inside of the lowershell module 104, a plurality of screws 118 for attaching the lowershell module 104 to the catalytic combustion assembly 122 disposedwithin the lower shell module 104 as described below, and a snap-fitsystem 106 for releasably attaching the upper shell module 102 to thelower shell module 104. FIG. 10B illustrates that the lower shell module104 contains an exhaust outlet duct 116 for providing an exhaust passagefrom inside of the lower shell module 104 to atmosphere. And, FIG. 10Cshows more specifically that the snap-fit system 106 can be utilized toseparate upper shell module 102 from the lower shell module 104.Snap-fit system 106 comprises a female portion 106A that is integralwith a circumferential bottom portion 102A of the upper shell module 102and a male portion 1068 that is integral with a circumferential band104A integral with a top end of lower shell module 104. The snap-fitsystem 106 can be operated to detach the upper shell module 102 from thelower shell module 104 by depressing the male portion 1068, therebyreleasing its engagement with the corresponding female portion 106A, andallowing the upper and lower shell modules, 102 and 104, to beseparated. Then the separated modules can be reconnected by simplyinserting circumferential band 104 of the lower shell module 104 intothe circumferential bottom portion 102A of the upper shell module 102until the female and male portions, 106A and 106B, reengage.

FIG. 11 and FIG. 12 illustrate that the upper shell module 102 houses acontainer 120 for containing a beverage or food and that the lower shellmodule 104 contains the catalytic combustion assembly 122 for heatingthe container 120 and its contents. The figures also show that thecatalytic combustion assembly 122 comprises: a top chamber plate 124that is not integral with the bottom of the container 120; a bottomchamber plate 128 coupled to the top chamber plate 124, thereby formingan integrated chamber plate 125; a fuel supply platform 128; a fuelsupply assembly 130 having tubular connections to the fuel supplyplatform 128 and to the bottom chamber plate 126; a fuel canister 132having the canister base 110 attached to a bottom of the fuel canister132, with the fuel canister 132 removably attached to the fuel supplyplatform 128; and dimethyl ether fuel gas 127 as the preferred fuel gascontained in a state of compression within the fuel canister 132. Asmentioned above, a reference to a “fuel” or a “fuel gas” means fuel in agaseous phase, unless indicated otherwise.

The container 120 can be secured to the upper shell module 102 bybonding an outside top perimeter of the container 120 to an inside topperimeter of the upper shell module 102 and by similarly bonding anoutside bottom perimeter of the container 120 to an inside bottomperimeter of the upper shell module 102. And, fuel supply platform 128can be secured to the lower shell module 104 by using the plurality ofscrews 118 to attach an inside perimeter of the lower shell module 104to an outside perimeter of the fuel supply platform 128. The shell lid108 can be removably attached to a top end of the upper shell module 102by screwing the shell lid 108, having female threads around its insideperimeter, to the upper shell module 102, having male threads around itstop outside perimeter. The container 120 can be any container that canconduct heat, such as a cup, mug or sauce pan; preferably the container120 will have a metallic composition. And, the upper and lower shellmodules 102 and 104 can be made of a thermally non-conductive material,preferably a polymeric material; alternatively, the container 120 canhave a thermally insulating layer disposed between a sidewall 121 of thecontainer 120 and the upper shell module 102.

The components of the catalytic combustion assembly 122 are illustratedin more detail in FIG. 13 through 15. FIG. 13 illustrates that in thisembodiment the top chamber plate 124 is not integral with the bottom ofthe container 120, with the container 120 having a flat container bottom123 integral with the sidewall 121 of the container 120. FIG. 14Athrough 14E further illustrate that a bottom surface of the top chamberplate 124 contains a top channel 124A that is integral with the topchamber plate 124 and preferably has a concave half-cylindrically shape,with the top channel 124A also having a curved center section 124B and apair of linear sections 124C integral with corresponding ends of thecurved center section 124B. A top surface of the bottom chamber plate126 similarly contains a bottom channel 120A, that is integral with thebottom chamber plate 126 and preferably has a concave half-cylindricallyshape that extends partially below the bottom surface of bottom chamberplate 22, with the bottom channel 126A having a curved center section126B and a pair of linear sections 126C integral with corresponding endsof the curved center section 126B. When top and bottom chamber plates,124 and 126, are aligned in a predetermined manner and coupled togetherto form the integrated chamber plate 125, top channel and bottomchannel, 124A and 126A, form an elongate sidewall enclosure 142, havinga preferred cylindrically shape, a curved sidewall center section 142Aand a pair of linear sidewall end sections 142B integral withcorresponding ends of the curved sidewall center section 142A. Theelongate sidewall enclosure 142 encloses and defines an enclosedcatalytic combustion chamber 140 that extends through the elongatesidewall enclosure 142, with me chamber 140 having the same curved andlinear shape as the elongate sidewall enclosure 142. The elongatesidewall enclosure 142 and the enclosed catalytic combustion chamber 140are best illustrated in FIG. 14C through FIG. 14E. The side view of FIG.14C illustrates me top and bottom chamber plates, 124 and 126, afterthey have been coupled together forming the integrated chamber plate125; the cross-sectional view of FIG. 14D shows the catalytic combustionchamber 140 enclosed within the elongate sidewall enclosure 142, with acatalytic reaction media 160 and a combustion starting element 164(described below) removed; and the top plan view of FIG. 14E, with thetop chamber plate 124 removed, further illustrates the catalyticcombustion chamber 140, elongate sidewall enclosure 142 and the curvedsidewall section 142A and pair of linear sidewall sections 142B, alsowith the catalytic reaction media 160 and combustion starting element164 removed.

The elongate sidewall enclosure 142 preferably should have a diameterthat is relatively small in order to ensure that the curved portion ofthe sidewall enclosure 142 can bend in a smooth and continuous fashionwithin the coupled chamber plates 124 and 126; and in order to moreevenly distribute the heat generated from the catalytic combustionchamber 140 to the top chamber plate 124 and to the bottom of thecontainer 120 that is adjacent to the top chamber plate 124, which, inturn, provides for a more even distribution of heat to the beverage orfood. At the same time, however, the elongate sidewall enclosure 142should have a diameter and length that are large enough to contain asufficient quantity of a catalytic reaction media 160 over the length ofthe sidewall enclosure 142 to produce a sufficient amount of heat toeffectively the top chamber plate 124, bottom of the container 120 andthe beverage or food within container 120. Given these considerations,the inventors have determined that the elongate sidewall enclosure 142preferably should have a diameter of about 10 millimeters or less, andmore preferably between about 5 and 10 millimeters. The elongatesidewall enclosure 142 also has a flow-through fuel gas inlet 142Cwithin one end of the sidewall enclosure 142 and a flow-through exhaustoutlet 142D within the other end of the sidewall enclosure 142, with thesidewall enclosure 142 having no other flow-through openings within thesidewall enclosure 142. And, a flow-through fuel gas inlet elbow 150 anda flow-through exhaust outlet elbow 152 are sealably disposed within theflow-through fuel gas inlet 142C and the flow-through exhaust outlet142D, respectively. The flow-through exhaust outlet elbow 152 also has atubular connection 153 with the exhaust outlet duct 116 within the lowershell module 104. The tubular connection 153 effectively extends theenclosed length of the elongate sidewall enclosure 142 from theflow-through exhaust outlet 142D of sidewall enclosure 142 to theexhaust outlet duct 116.

It is preferred that the top and bottom chamber plates, 124 and 126, arecoupled together by utilizing a plurality of binder posts 154, with topportions of the binder posts 154 disposed within corresponding openingsthrough the top chamber plate 124, with bottom portions of the binderposts 154 disposed within corresponding openings through the bottomchamber plate 126, and with bottom ends of the binder posts 154, whichextend away from the bottom surface of the bottom chamber plate 126,used to couple the top chamber plate 124 to the bottom chamber plate 126by flattening the ends of the binder posts 154 against the bottomsurface of the chamber plate 126. Preferably, the top and bottom chamberplates, 124 and 126, have a metallic composition.

Before the enclosed catalytic combustion chamber 140 is formed bycoupling the top and bottom chamber plates, 124 and 126, the catalyticreaction media 160 preferably can be positioned in a curved orientation,as shown in FIG. 5A, within the curved section 126B of bottom channel126A. Alternatively, the catalytic reaction media 160 can be positionedin a curved and linear orientation within the curved section 126B ofbottom channel 126A and within the pair of linear sections 126C ofbottom channel 126A. Although the figure shows that a center top half ofthe catalytic reaction media 160 has been removed, this is only for thepurpose of revealing a curved passage 182 that extends lengthwisethrough the interior of the catalytic reaction media 160. As also shownin FIG. 14A and 14B, a combustion starting element 164, preferably madefrom a narrow gage resistance wire alloy, such as Nichrome 60, Nichrome80 or Kanthal, can be disposed lengthwise through a center portion ofthe catalytic reaction media 160, with one end 164A of the combustionstarting element 164 disposed through an opening within the bottomchannel 126A and another end 164B of the combustion starting element 164disposed through another opening through the bottom channel 126A, andwith a center portion 164C of the combustion starting element 164disposed through the curved passage 162 within the catalytic reactionmedia 160. Preferably, as illustrated in FIG. 14A and 14B, the centerportion 164C of the combustion starting element 164 is coiled, whichcauses the combustion starting element 164 to attain a higher ignitiontemperature for a given amount of electrical power than would otherwiseexist if the combustion starting element 164 were not coiled. The ends,164A and 164B, of the combustion starting element 164 are in electronicconnection with a programmed microprocessor 166 which, when activated,supplies electrical current a battery 138, such as a lithium polymertype battery, to the combustion starting element 164. Alternatively, thecombustion starting element 164 can be a spark ignition systemcomprising a pair of wires disposed within a lengthwise opening withinthe catalytic reaction media 164, with the pair of wires separated by apredetermined distance within the opening. A large transient electricvoltage is formed between the wires using techniques well known to thoseskilled in the art, such as utilizing a piezoelectric crystal that canproduce a substantial voltage when squeezed by mechanical means. Theresulting large voltage causes the discharge of a spark between the pairof wires that Ignites the catalytic reaction media 164. And, as bestillustrated in FIG. 14A through FIG. 14E, in order to ensure that thecatalytic combustion process is confined to the catalytic combustionchamber 140, sealing members 168 and 170 are disposed withincorresponding sealing channels 168A and 170A within the bottom chamberplate 126. with the sealing channel 168A concentrically positionedoutside of bottom channel 126A and sealing channel 170A concentricallypositioned inside of bottom channel 126A. In addition, a pair of O-rings172 Is disposed around corresponding portions of flow-through fuel gasinlet elbow 150 and flow-through exhaust outlet elbow 152 in order tofurther seal the catalytic combustion chamber 140.

Once the catalytic reaction media 180 and combustion element 164 arepositioned within the curved bottom channel 126A and the top chamberplate 124 is coupled to the bottom chamber plate 126, the catalyticreaction media 160 and the combustion element 164 are captured in acurved orientation within the curved sidewall section 142A of theelongate sidewall enclosure 142, thereby defining catalytic combustionchamber 140 as having the same shape as the elongate sidewall enclosure142. In this regard, a curved elongate shape for the catalyticcombustion chamber 140 is preferred in order to more evenly distributethe heat from the combustion chamber 140 to the top chamber plate 124and, thereby, provide for a more even distribution of heat to thebeverage or food within container 120. And, the most preferred curvedelongate shape for the catalytic combustion chamber 140 is a curvaturehaving a constant radius of curvature (hereinafter referred to as a“circular curvature”) providing a smooth and continuous surface withinthe combustion chamber 140. Although the catalytic combustion chamber140 having a circular curvature is preferred, as described in connectionwith catalytic heating system 1, other curved shapes, such as serpentineor coiled, can be used with catalytic heating system 100

FIG. 15A and 15B more specifically illustrate the fuel supply assembly130 mat is mounted on a topside of fuel supply platform 128. The fuelsupply assembly 130 comprises the following fuel supply components afuel inlet valve 131 having a compression fitting and tap for use influidly connecting the fuel assembly 130 to the fuel canister 132,containing dimethyl ether fuel gas 127; a liquid/gas separator 133,which could be, but not limited to, a porous oleophobic membrane such as“Supor R” made by Pall Corporation, having a tubular connection throughtube 130A with the fuel inlet valve 131, with the liquid/gas separator133 for removing any dimethyl ether fuel gas 127 that is in liquid form;a pressure regulator 134, such as an ultra-miniature regulator from the“PR-MLS” model series by Beswick Engineering, having a tubularconnection through tube 130B with the liquid/gas separator 133, with thepressure regulator 134 for maintaining the pressure of the dimethylether fuel gas 127 at a predetermined level; a solenoid valve 135, suchas the “LHL” series from the Lee Company, having a tubular connectionthrough tube 130C with the pressure regulator 134, with the solenoidvalve 135 for opening and closing the flow of dimethyl ether fuel gas127 through the fuel supply assembly 130; a fuel and air mixing injector136, such as a venturi injector, having a tubular connection throughtube 130D with the solenoid valve 135, with the fuel and air mixinginjector 136 for injecting the dimethyl ether fuel gas 127 and entrainedair into the catalytic combustion chamber 140; and a temperature sensor128A attached to the bottom surface of the bottom chamber plate 126 forsensing the temperature within the catalytic combustion chamber 140; anda temperature sensor 129B attached to the outside surface of thesidewall 121 of container 120 for sensing the temperature of thecontainer 120. And, the fuel supply assembly 130 has a tubularconnection to the catalytic combustion chamber 140 by inserting a topend of the fuel and air mixing injector 136 into the flow-through fuelgas inlet elbow 150 of the chamber 140.

The fuel supply assembly 130 further comprises the programmedmicroprocessor 166 that is attached to and in electrical connection to acircuit bord 137 that is mounted on the top side of the fuel supplyplatform 128. A battery 138, such as a lithium polymer type GM502030from PowerStream Technology, Inc., can also be attached to and inelectrical connection to the circuit board 137, or the battery 138 canbe attached to any other appropriate location within the catalyticcombustion assembly 122 or within the lower shell module 104 surroundingthe catalytic combustion chamber 140. The battery 138 supplieselectrical power to the programmed microprocessor 166 when the on/offbutton 112 is in the “on” position and disconnects electrical power whenthe on/off button 112 is in the off position. When activated, theprogrammed microprocessor 166, with inputs from the temperature sensors129A and 129B, controls the functionality of the solenoid valve 135 inorder to control the fuel gas flow rate and temperature within theenclosed catalytic combustion chamber 140. The activated programmedmicroprocessor 166 also supplies electrical power to the combustionstarting element 164, which the microprocessor 166 coordinates with thesupply of fuel gas to the enclosed catalytic combustion chamber 140 byopening and dosing the solenoid valve 135.

The cross-sectional side view presented in FIG. 16 illustrates that fuelcanister 132 can contain the dimethyl ether fuel gas 127 and that thefuel canister 132 can be releasably connected to the fuel supplyplatform 128. In order to facilitate the connection, the fuel supplyplatform 128 also comprises a platform receptacle 178, integral with anunderside of the fuel supply platform 128, that contains a platformreceptacle opening 180 leading to a cylindrically shaped cavity 182,with the cavity 182 having: female threads extending distally from theopening 180; an inner O-ring 184 disposed within the cavity 182 andpositioned distally from the female threads; and an outer O-ring 186disposed around an outside surface of the platform receptacle 178. Thefuel canister 132 contains a fuel flow valve 188. integral with the topof the fuel canister 132, and having male threads that can be used toconnect the fuel canister 132 to the fuel supply platform 128 byscrewing the fuel flow valve 188 into the platform receptacle 178. Thisaction causes: 1) the tap within fuel gas compression fitting 131 toopen the fuel flow valve 188, thereby allowing the dimethyl ether fuelgas 127, which has been compressed within the fuel canister 132, to flowfrom the canister 132 into the fuel supply assembly 130; and 2) anoutside surface of the fuel canister 132 to engage the outer O-Ring 186and the fuel flow valve 188 to engage the inner O-ring 184. therebypreventing dimethyl ether fuel gas 127 within the fuel container 132from escaping to atmosphere.

FIG. 17A and 17B illustrate in more detail that the top of the shell lid108 contains a flow opening 108A for allowing a beverage containedwithin the container 120 to flow out of the container 120 and into aflow guide 108B for channeling the flow of a beverage from the container120. A shell slider valve 108C can be operated within a shell slidervalve retainer 108D to open the shell slider valve 108C in order toallow the beverage to flow out of the container 120 or to close theshell slider valve 108C to prevent the beverage from flowing out of thecontainer 120.

The catalytic heating system 100 has general industrial applicability inthat it can be utilized to heat a container containing a beverage orfood. Specifically, operation of the catalytic heating system 100 canproceed by providing a flow of the dimethyl ether fuel gas 127 byattaching the fuel canister 132, containing the dimethyl ether fuel gas127 to the fuel supply platform 128, by screwing the fuel flow valve 188into the platform receptacle 178, which causes the tap within the fuelgas compression fitting 131 to open the fuel flow valve 188 and causesthe dimethyl ether fuel gas 127 within the fuel canister 132 to flowthrough compression fitting 131 and into the fuel supply assembly 130.The dimethyl ether fuel gas 127 will initially flow through theliquid/gas separator 133, where any fuel gas in liquid form will beremoved, and then flow through the pressure regulator 134 that willmaintain the fuel gas below a predetermined pressure, and continueflowing until it reaches the solenoid valve 135. With the on/off button112 in the “off” position, the solenoid valve 135 will be closed, whichprevents the dimethyl ether fuel gas 127 from flowing into the fuel andair mixing injector 136. Next, the catalytic heating system 100 can beoperated to heat a beverage or food by, if necessary, removing the shelllid 108 by unscrewing it from its engagement with the top of the uppershell module 102. A beverage or food can then be placed into thecontainer 120 and the shell lid 108 reattached to the upper shell module102. The catalytic combustion process that is utilized to heat thebeverage or food is initiated by depressing the on/off button 112 to the“on” position, which activates the programmed microprocessor 166 byclosing the circuit connection between the battery 138 and programmedmicroprocessor 166. At a predetermined time after activation, theprogrammed microprocessor 166 causes the solenoid valve 135 to open,causing the dimethyl ether fuel gas 127 to flow into the fuel and airmixing injector 136. As the dimethyl ether fuel gas 127 flows throughthe fuel and air mixing injector 136, the velocity of the fuel gas flow127 will increase due to the distal narrowing of the injector 136.Increasing the velocity of the dimethyl ether fuel gas 127 causes thepressure in the fuel and air mixing injector 136 to decrease, therebyentraining the dimethyl ether fuel gas 127 with atmospheric air in orderto produce a dimethyl ether fuel gas and entrained air mixture, whilemaintaining an entrainment ratio of about 15 or more parts air to aboutone part dimethyl ether fuel gas 127 for the mixture. The dimethyl etherfuel gas and the entrained air mixture is injected by the fuel and airmixing injector 136 into the flow-through fuel gas inlet elbow 150 andthen into the elongate sidewall enclosure 142 defining the catalyticcombustion chamber 140, thereby constraining the flow of the mixturethough the catalytic combustion chamber 140 to the curved and linearpath best illustrated in FIG. 14E. While the flow of the dimethyl etherfuel gas and entrained air mixture is flowing through the catalyticcombustion chamber 140, additional actions that contribute to thegeneration of the catalytic combustion process are: contacting thedimethyl ether fuel gas and entrained air mixture with the catalyticreaction media 160 and the combustion starting element 164: activatingthe programmed microprocessor 166 to cause an electrical current to besupplied to the combustion starting element 164, which causes thecombustion starting element 164 to heat up, thereby igniting the flow ofdimethyl ether fuel and entrained air mixture and generating thecatalytic combustion process within the catalytic reaction media 160within catalytic combustion chamber 140. The heat generated by thecatalytic combustion process causes the top channel 124A and top chamberplate 124 to heat up by conducting heat away from the catalyticcombustion chamber 140, which in turn heats the container 120 and thebeverage or food within the container 120. Exhaust generated from thecatalytic combustion process passes through the flow-through exhaustoutlet elbow 152, through the tubular connection 153 between the outletelbow 152 and the exhaust outlet duct 116 within the lower shell module104, and out the exhaust outlet duct 116.

The advantages and unexpected results provided by the catalytic heatingsystem 100 are the same as the advantages, and unexpected results of thecatalytic heating system 1 described above. However, the catalyticheating system 100 has the additional advantage of being able to removethe upper shell module 102 and its attached container 120 within theupper shell module 102 from the lower shell module 104, providing theconveniences of using and washing the container 120 separate from thelower shell module 104.

In an another embodiment, a catalytic heating system 200 for heating abeverage or food with a stovetop surface 201 is described in FIG. 19Athrough FIG. 25. More specifically, FIG. 19A and FIG. 19B illustratethat the catalytic heating system 200, which is preferably portable,comprises: an outer shell 202 having a cylindrically shape; a canisterbase 210 adjacent to outer shell 202; an on/off button 204 on theoutside surface of outer shell 202; a pair of air vents 206 forproviding air passages to the inside of outer shell 202; a plurality ofscrews 208 for attaching the outer shell 202 to a catalytic combustionassembly 222 disposed within the outer shell 202, and an integratedchamber plate 225 having a cylindrically shape and having a stovetopsurface 201 integral with the integrated chamber plate 225, with theintegrated chamber plate 225 integral with the catalytic combustionassembly 222, and with the integrated chamber plate 225 concentricallydisposed within a top opening 212 of outer shell 202. The components ofcatalytic combustion assembly 222 are described in detail below. And,FIG. 19B shows that the outer shell 202 contains an exhaust outlet duct216 for providing an exhaust passage from the inside of the outer shell202 to atmosphere.

FIG. 20 and FIG. 21 further illustrate the catalytic combustion assembly222 disposed within and attached to the outer shell 202, with thecatalytic combustion assembly 222 providing a catalytic heating sourcefor the catalytic heating system 200. In this regard, the catalyticcombustion assembly 222, as illustrated in more detail in FIG. 22through FIG. 24, is identical to the catalytic combustion assembly 122illustrated in FIG. 11 through FIG. 16 and described in connection withthe catalytic heating system 100. And, although the identificationnumbers for the component parts of catalytic combustion assembly 222 asshown in the figures are different than the identification numbers forthe component parts of catalytic combustion assembly 122, thecorresponding components are identical For example, the integratedchamber plate 225, a fuel supply assembly 230, a fuel supply platform228 and a fuel canister 232 within catalytic combustion assembly 222 areidentical to integrated chamber plate 125, fuel supply assembly 130,fuel supply platform 128 and fuel canister 132, respectively, withincatalytic combustion assembly 122.

The catalytic combustion assembly 222 can be used in a manner, which isthe same as the manner of utilizing the catalytic combustion, assembly122, to provide a catalytic heating process within the catalytic heatingsystem 200. Specifically, the fuel canister 232 within catalyticcombustion assembly 222, entrained air mixture within the enclosedcatalytic combustion chamber 240 generates a catalytic combustionprocess within the catalytic reaction media 260 disposed within thecatalytic combustion chamber 240. The heat generated from the catalyticcombustion process heats the top chamber plate 224 within the integratedchamber plate 225, just like the catalytic heating system 100 uses theheat generated from the catalytic combustion chamber 140 to heat the topchamber plate 124 within the Integrated chamber plate 125. In thisregard, however, the manner in which the two systems are used to heat acontainer are different. In the catalytic heating system 100, the heatedtop chamber plate 124 is brought into adjacent contact with the bottomof container 120 by attaching the top module 102 to the bottom module104, thereby providing for conduction of heat directly from the heatedtop chamber plate 124 to the container 120. By contrast, in catalyticheating system 200, the heated top chamber plate 224 within integratedchamber plate 225 is utilized as the stovetop surface 201 that can beused to heat a container, like a pot, pan or similar container that canbe used to heat its contents by simply placing the container on thestovetop surface 201. FIG. 25 illustrates a pot (in dashed lines) thathas been placed on the stovetop surface 201. The container is heated bythe conduction of heat directly from the stovetop surface 201 to thecontainer. A more specific description of all of the component parts ofthe catalytic combustion assembly 222 and the manner in which thosecomponent parts operate to generate conductive heat is presented abovein connection with the description of the component parts of catalyticcombustion assembly 122, which is equally applicable to catalyticcombustion assembly 222. Further, the advantages of the catalyticcombustion assembly 122 are also equally applicable to the catalyticcombustion assembly 222.

in an another embodiment, a catalytic heating system 300 for heating abeverage or food, with a stovetop surface 301 is described in FIG. 26through FIG. 32. More specifically, FIG. 26 illustrates that thecatalytic heating system 300, which is preferably portable, comprises:an outer shell 302 having a cylindrically shape; a canister base 310adjacent to outer shell 302; an on/off button 304 on the outside surfaceof outer shell 302, a pair of air vents 306 for providing air passagesto the inside of outer shell 302; a plurality of screws 308 forattaching the outer shell 302 to a catalytic combustion assembly 322disposed within the outer shell 302; and an integrated chamber plate 325having a cylindrically shape and having the stovetop surface 301integral with the integrated chamber plate 325, and with the integratedchamber plate 325 integral with the catalytic combustion assembly 322.The cylindrically shaped integrated chamber plate 325 is concentricallypositioned above the cylindrically shaped outer shell 302 and adjacentto a top end of the outer shell 302, as shown in FIG. 27 and FIG. 28,with the cylindrically shaped integrated chamber plate 325 having acircumference that is greater than the circumference of the outer shell302, such that an integrated chamber plate perimeter wall 351 of theintegrated chamber plate 325 extends away from the outside perimeter ofthe outer shell. The components of the catalytic combustion assembly 322are described more specifically below,

The components of the catalytic combustion assembly 322 are illustratedin more detail in FIG. 27 through FIG. 31. The figures illustrate thatthe catalytic combustion assembly 322 comprises: a top chamber plate324; a bottom chamber plate 326 coupled to the top chamber plate 324,thereby forming the cylindrically shaped integrated chamber plate 325,with integrated chamber plate 325 having the stovetop surface 301integral with top chamber plate 324; a fuel supply platform 328; a fuelsupply assembly 330 having tubular connections to the fuel supplyplatform 328 and to the bottom chamber plate 326; a fuel canister 332,with the canister base 310 attached to a bottom of the fuel canister332, and with the fuel canister 332 removably attached to the fuelsupply platform 328; and a fuel gas 327, preferably dimethyl ether, in astate of compression within the fuel canister 332. Dimethyl ether is thepreferred fuel gas due. in part, to having a stoichiometric air to fuelratio mat is conducive to obtaining complete combustion of the fuel gasin a catalytic combustion process. Other fuel gasses, however, likebutane, propane and mixtures of those fuel gasses, along with mixturesof dimethyl ether, butane and propane, can also be used as the fuel gas327. As mentioned above, a reference to a “fuel” or a “fuel gas” meansfuel in a gaseous phase, unless indicated otherwise.

The perspective and exploded view of FIG. 29A and top plan view of FIG.29B illustrate the integrated chamber plate 325 separated from thetubular connection of the bottom chamber plate 326 to the fuel supplyassembly 330, and shows that the integrated chamber plate 325 is formedby coupling the top chamber plated 324 to the bottom chamber plate 326.The integrated chamber plate 325 has integrated chamber plate top andbottom sides 350 and 352, with the integrated chamber plate top side 350coextensive with the stovetop surface 301, and with the integratedchamber plate perimeter wall 351 of Integrated chamber plate 325disposed between and integral with the integrated chamber plate top andbottom sides 350 and 352. The top chamber plate 324 of integratedchamber plate 325 has a cylindrically shape and top and bottom chamberplate sides 324A and 324B, respectively. The bottom chamber plate 326 ofintegrated chamber plate 326 also has a cylindrically shape, with thebottom chamber plate 326 having top and bottom sides 326A and 326B,respectively, and a perimeter wall 326C disposed between and integralwith the top and bottom sides 326A and 326B. A flow-through fuel gasinlet 356 is integral with the center of the bottom chamber plate 326.When the top chamber plate and bottom chamber plates 324 and 326 arecoupled together to form integrated chamber plate 325, the top side 324Aof top chamber plate 324 is coextensive with the integrated chamberplate top side 350 and the stovetop surface 301, the bottom side 326B ofbottom chamber plate 326 is coextensive with integrated chamber platebottom side 352, and the perimeter wall 326C of bottom chamber plate 326is coextensive with the integrated chamber plate perimeter wall 351. Aplurality of channels 362, preferably six in number, are integral withthe top side 326A of bottom chamber plate 328, with a proximal end eachchannel out of the plurality of channels 362 integral with and fluidlyconnected to the flow-through fuel gas inlet 356 and with an oppositedistal end of each channel out of the plurality of channels 362 integralwith a corresponding exhaust outlet out of a plurality of exhaustoutlets 358 within the chamber plate perimeter wall 326C of the bottomchamber plate 326. Preferably, the inside surface of each of thechannels out of the plurality of channels 362 has an elongate curvedshape, with a bottom flat surface 363 of each channel being integralwith and perpendicular to a pair of opposing sidewalk 365. And, when thetop chamber plate 324 is coupled to the bottom chamber plate 326, theplurality of channels 382 and top chamber plate 324 form a correspondingplurality of enclosed catalytic combustion chambers 360, with eachenclosed catalytic combustion chamber out of the plurality of enclosedcatalytic combustion chambers 360 preferably having a curved shape withfour inside elongate sidewall surfaces, with each elongate sidewallsurface perpendicular or normal to an adjacent sidewall surface and witheach sidewall surface opposite from a sidewall surface. It is preferredthat the distance between opposite sidewall surfaces be about 10millimeters or less or more preferably between about 5 and 10millimeters. These dimensions provide the advantage of limiting orpreventing flame propagation in the catalytic combustion chamber. Eachenclosed catalytic combustion chamber out of the plurality of catalyticcombustion chambers 360 also has a single flow-through fuel gas inletopening 356A, having a flow-through connection with the flow throughfuel gas inlet 356, and a single flow-through exhaust outlet opening358A, having a flow-through connection with an exhaust outlet 358, witheach enclosed catalytic combustion chamber 360 not having any otherflow-through openings accessing the enclosed catalytic combustionchamber 360. A catalytic reaction media 364 is disposed within eachenclosed catalytic combustion chamber out of the plurality of enclosedcatalytic combustion chambers 360, with the catalytic reaction media 364conforming to the shape of the enclosed catalytic combustion chamber andextending a predetermined distance within the chamber. If the catalyticcombustion chamber is curved as in FIG. 29A and FIG. 29B, the catalyticreaction media 364 will conform to the same curved shape having anoutside convex portion 364A and an inside concave portion 364B.

The bottom side 328B of bottom chamber plate 326, as show In FIG. 29C,contains a plurality of cavities 368 that correspond in number to theplurality of enclosed catalytic combustion chambers 360 integral withthe top side 326A of bottom chamber plate 326. Each of the cavities outof the plurality of cavities 368 is positioned such that the cavity doesnot extend into an adjacent enclosed catalytic combustion chamber out ofthe plurality of enclosed catalytic combustion chambers 360. A fuel gastubular connector 370 is coupled at one open end to the bottom side 326Bof the bottom chamber plate 326, with said open end surrounding theflow-through fuel gas inlet 356, and with an opposite open end of fuelgas tubular connector 370 that can be fluidly connected to a fuel andair mixing injector 336 within fuel supply assembly 330. A combustionstarting element 374, preferably a pair of wires that are part of aspark ignition system, are passed through an opening in the side of fuelgas tubular connector 370 so that the combustion starting element 374can be positioned inside the open space within the fuel gas tubularconnector 370. A microprocessor 366 within fuel supply assembly 330 isutilized to control the spark ignition system which generates anelectrical spark between the pair of wires forming the combustionstarting element 374. And, a temperature sensor 376 can be integral withme bottom side 326B of bottom chamber plate 326 for sensing thetemperature of the catalytic combustion process.

FIG. 30A, FIG. 30B and FIG. 31 illustrate in more detail the fuel supplyassembly 330, fuel supply platform 328 and fuel canister 332 withincatalytic combustion assembly 322. With one exception, these componentswithin catalytic combustion assembly 322 are identical to the fuelsupply assemblies 130 and 230, fuel supply platforms 128 and 228 andfuel canisters 132 and 232 illustrated and described in connection withthe catalytic heating systems 100 and 200. And, although theidentification numbers for the component parts of fuel supply assembly330, fuel supply platform 328 and fuel canister 332 as shown in thefigures are different than the identification numbers for the componentparts of: fuel supply assembly 130, fuel supply platform 128, and fuelcanister 132 shown in FIG. 15A, FIG. 15B and FIG. 16; and fuel supplyassembly 230, fuel supply platform 228, and fuel canister 232 shown inFIG. 23A, FIG. 23B and FIG. 24, the corresponding parts component partsare identical. The only component part of fuel supply assembly 330 thatis not disclosed in fuel supply assembly 130 or 230 is a fuel gas inlettubular extension 330E fluidly connected at one end to the fuel and airmixing injector 336 and can be fluidly connected at the other end tofuel gas tubular connector 370 integral with the bottom chamber plate326 integral with integrated chamber plate 325.

The catalytic combustion assembly 322 within catalytic heating system300 can be used in a manner, which is the same as the manner ofutilizing the catalytic combustion assembly 222 within catalytic heatingsystem 200, in order to generate a fuel gas and entrained air mixture tobe injected into a combustion chamber Specifically, the fuel canister332 within catalytic combustion assembly 322, which is releasablyconnected to the fuel supply assembly 330, supplies fuel gas to the fuelsupply assembly 330, which in turn utilizes the fuel and air mixinginjector 336 to generate the fuel gas and entrained air mixture Thereare differences, however, in the manner in which catalytic combustionassembly 322, as compared to catalytic combustion assembly 222, utilizesthe fuel gas and entrained air mixture to generate conductive heat froma catalytic combustion process. The catalytic combustion assembly 322within catalytic heating system 300 uses the fuel and air mixinginjector 336 to inject the fuel gas and entrained air mixture throughfuel gas tubular connector 370 into the plurality of enclosed catalyticcombustion chambers 360, where catalytic combustion processes heat thetop chamber plate 324 and stovetop surface 301. By comparison, catalyticcombustion assembly 222 within heating system 200, uses fuel and airmixing injector 236 to inject the fuel gas and entrained air mixturethrough flow-through fuel gas inlet 150 into a single enclosed catalyticcombustion chamber 240, where a catalytic combustion process heats thetop chamber plate 224 and stovetop surface 201. The plurality ofenclosed catalytic combustion chambers 360 is provided, in part, due tothe need to generate sufficient heat to heat the stovetop surface 301which has a larger surface area as compared to the surface area ofstovetop surface 201 within catalytic heating system 200. And, thecatalytic combustion assembly 322 uses the plurality of exhaust outlets358 within the chamber plate perimeter wall 326C of the bottom chamberplate 326 to direct exhaust from the plurality of enclosed catalyticcombustion chambers 360 to atmosphere, while catalytic combustionassembly 222 within catalytic heating system 200 utilizes a singleexhaust outlet 1420 integral with the bottom chamber plate 228 in orderto direct exhaust to atmosphere through exhaust outlet duct 216 withinouter shell 202. Further, catalytic combustion assembly 322 preferablyuses the combustion starting element 374 within the spark ignitionsystem to ignite the fuel gas and entrained air mixture coming from thefuel supply assembly 330 before the mixture reaches the plurality ofcatalytic reaction media 364, while the catalytic combustion assembly222 preferably uses a coiled combustion starting element 264C that isembedded in the catalytic reaction media 260 to ignite the fuel gas andentrained air mixture. With the exception of these differences, thedescription of the use of catalytic combustion assembly 222 withincatalytic heating system 200 to generate a catalytic heating process toconductively heat a container, like a pot, pan or similar container bysimply placing the container on the stovetop surface 201 as shown inFIG. 32, is equally applicable to the use of the catalytic combustionassembly 322 within catalytic heating system 300.

Although each enclosed catalytic combustion chamber out of the pluralityof enclosed catalytic combustion chambers 360 has a preferred elongatecurved shape, other shapes can be utilized. For example, the catalyticcombustion chamber can be linear or have a combination of linear and acurved sections. In this regard, however, the preferred elongate curvedshape of each of the enclosed combustion chambers out of the pluralityof enclosed combustion chambers 360 substantially increases the amountof heat energy that the catalytic combustion process within the enclosedcatalytic combustion chamber can transfer to the top chamber plate 324and its integral stovetop surface 301. As the ignited fuel gas andentrained air mixture reacts with the catalytic reaction media 364disposed with the catalytic combustion chamber and flows through thechamber, centrifugal force generates an asymmetric laminar flowvelocity, causing higher temperatures, causing the majority of the heatenergy generated from the catalytic combustion process to be produced ina zone much closer to the sidewall surface of the catalytic combustionchamber that is adjacent to the outside convex portion of the catalyticreaction media than would otherwise occur. This action, in turn, causesa more efferent transfer of heat energy to the integrated chamber plateand its integral stovetop surface. In addition, the heat transferredfrom the catalytic combustion chamber to the top chamber plate can bemore uniformly distributed across the top chamber plate by utilizing amaterial, such as Annealed Pyrolytic Graphite, which has thecharacteristic of conducting heat preferentially in the plane of the topchamber plate, rather than equally well in all directions, as is morecommon. By comparison, a similar catalytic combustion process generatedin an enclosed combustion chamber having an elongate linear shape wouldnot accelerate the flow of fuel gas and entrained air mixture throughthe chamber and, as a result, additional heat energy would not begenerated.

Another embodiment of the integrated chamber plate 325 within thecatalytic combustion assembly 322 is illustrated in FIG. 29D. In thisembodiment each of the enclosed catalytic combustion chambers out of theplurality of enclosed catalytic combustion chambers 360, which areformed by coupling the top chamber plate 324 to bottom chamber plate326, has an elongate linear shape, rather than an elongate curved shape.Otherwise, and with one additional feature, the component parts of theintegrated chamber plate 325 are identical for both embodiments Theadditional feature, as illustrated in the figures, is a flow diverter367 having a semispherically shape, with the flow diverter 367 integralwith the bottom side 324B of top chamber plate 324 and positioned at thecenter of the bottom side 324B. The flow diverter 367 is provided inorder to increase the amount of heat energy that can be transferred fromthe enclosed catalytic combustion chamber 360 to the stovetop surface301. After the fuel gas and entrained air mixture has been ignited bythe combustion starting element 374 within the spark ignition system,the ignited flow contacts the flow diverter 367 causing the flow toseparate into a planar flow adjacent to and in contact with the bottomside 324B of top chamber plate 32, with the planar flow forming agenerally uniform radial pattern as it expands, remaining adjacent toand in contact with the bottom side 324B of top chamber plate 324.Ultimately, the planar flow separates into a corresponding plurality ofseparate planar flows that correspond to the plurality of the enclosedcatalytic combustion chambers 360. As each separate planar flow enters acorresponding catalytic combustion chamber, the flow remains adjacent toand contact with that portion of the bottom side plate 324B of topchamber plate 324 that forms a top inside sidewall out of me four insidesidewall surfaces within the catalytic combustion chamber, and remainsadjacent to and in contact with the top inside sidewall for asignificant distance. As a result of this flow pattern inside theenclosed catalytic combustion chamber 360, a substantial portion of theheat energy generated inside the catalytic combustion chamber isgenerated in a narrow zone within the catalytic reaction media 364located near the top sidewall surface of the catalytic combustionchamber, which in turn transfers more heat energy to the stovetopsurface 301. Without the utilization of the flow diverter 367, more ofthe heat generated in the enclosed catalytic combustion chamber 360would exit the chamber as exhaust.

In an another embodiment, a catalytic heating system 400 for heating abeverage or food, with a stovetop surface 401 is described in FIG. 33through FIG. 38. More specifically. FIG. 33 illustrates that thecatalytic heating system 400, which is preferably portable, comprises:an outer shell 402 having a cylindrically shape; a canister base 410adjacent to outer shell 402; an on/off button 404 on the outside surfaceof outer shell 402; a pair of air vents 406 for providing air passagesto the inside of outer shell 402; a plurality of screws 408 forattaching me outer shell 402 to a catalytic combustion assembly 422disposed within the outer shell 402; and an integrated chamber plateenclosure having a cylindrically shape and having the stovetop surface401 integral with the integrated chamber plater enclosure 425, and withthe integrated chamber plate enclosure 425 integral with the catalyticcombustion assembly 422. The cylindrically shaped Integrated chamberplate enclosure 425 is concentrically positioned above the cylindricallyshaped outer shell 402 and adjacent to a top end of the outer shell 402,as shown in FIG. 34 and FIG. 35, and with the integrated chamber plateenclosure 425 having a circumference that is greater than thecircumference of the outer shell 402, such that an integrated chamberplate perimeter wall 451 of the integrated chamber plate enclosure 425extends away from the outside perimeter of the outer shell. Thecomponents of the catalytic combustion assembly 422 are described morespecifically below.

The components of the catalytic combustion assembly 422 are illustratedin more detail in FIG. 34 through FIG. 38. The figures illustrate thatthe catalytic combustion assembly 422 comprises: a top chamber plate424: a bottom chamber plate 426 coupled to the top chamber plate 424,thereby forming the integrated chamber plate enclosure 425, a fuelsupply platform 428; a fuel supply assembly 430 having tubularconnections to the fuel supply platform 428 and to the bottom chamberplate 426; a fuel canister 432, with the canister base 410 attached to abottom of the fuel canister 432, and with the fuel canister 432removably attached to the fuel supply platform 428; and dimethyl etherfuel gas 427 as the preferred fuel gas contained in a state ofcompression within the fuel canister 432. Dimethyl ether is thepreferred fuel gas due, in part, to having a stoichiometric air to fuelratio that is conducive to obtaining complete combustion of the fuel gasin a catalytic combustion process. Other fuel gasses, however, likebutane, propane and mixtures of those fuel gasses along with mixtures ofdimethyl ether, butane and propane, can also be used as the fuel gas427. As mentioned above, a reference to a “fuel” or a “fuel gas”meansfuel in a gaseous phase, unless indicated otherwise.

The perspective and exploded view of FIG. 36A and top plan view of FIG.36B illustrate integrated chamber plate enclosure 425 separated from thetubular connection of the bottom chamber plate 428 to the fuel supplyassembly 430 and shows that the integrated chamber plate enclosure 425is formed by coupling the top chamber plate 424 to the bottom chamberplate 326. The integrated chamber plate enclosure 425 has an integratedchamber plate top and bottom sides 450 and 452, with the integratedchamber plate top side coextensive with the stovetop surface 401, andwith the integrated chamber plate perimeter wall 451 disposed betweenand integral with the integrated chamber plate top and bottom sides 450and 452. The top chamber plate 424 has a flat cylindrically shape andtop and bottom and the bottom chamber plate 426 has a cylindricallyshape with a perimeter wall 442, a closed bottom end 448 and open topend 449, and with a flow-through fuel gas inlet 440 through the centerof closed bottom end 448 of the bottom chamber plate 426 and a pluralityof exhaust outlets 458 through perimeter wall 442. The integratedchamber plate enclosure 425 is formed by coupling the top chamber plate424 to the bottom chamber plate 426, thereby creating an open space withthe integrated chamber plate enclosure 426. When the top chamber plateand bottom chamber plates 424 and 426 are coupled together to formintegrated chamber plate enclosure 425, the bottom end 448 of bottomchamber plate 426 is coextensive with integrated chamber plate bottomside 452, and the perimeter wall 442 of bottom chamber plate 426 iscoextensive with the integrated chamber plate perimeter wall 451. Aguide vane 454 ring, having a plurality of guide vane ring openings 454Athrough the guide vane ring 454, is disposed within the open spacewithin integrated chamber plate enclosure 425 and is integral with theinside surface of the closed bottom end 448 of bottom chamber plate 426and positioned inside of and concentric with the perimeter wall 442 ofbottom chamber plate 426. A plurality of guide vane ring flaps 456 areintegral with the guide vane 454 ring, with each guide vane flap out ofthe plurality of guide vane ring flaps 456 integral at one end with anoutside surface of the guide vane 454 ring, and with the opposite end ofthe guide vane flap extending away and at an angle from a correspondingring opening out of the plurality of guide vane ring openings 454A. Acatalytic reaction media 462, having a cylindrical ring shape with aninside concave surface 462A, an outside convex surface 462B, and auniform radial dimension, is also disposed within the open space withinintegrated chamber plate enclosure 425 and is in contact with the insidesurface of the closed bottom end 448 of bottom chamber plate 428 andfurther positioned between the perimeter wall 442 of the bottom chamberplate 426 and the guide vane 454 ring. The catalytic reaction media 462has a height such that when the top and bottom chamber plates, 424 and426, are coupled together the catalytic reaction media 462 is also incontact with the top chamber plate 424, thereby enclosing the catalyticreaction media 462 between and in contact with the top and bottomchamber plates 424 and 426, and defining a catalytic combustion chamber460 in the space between the top and bottom chamber plates 424 and 426and between the perimeter wall 442 of the bottom chamber plate 426 andthe guide vane ring 454. The figure also shows the catalytic reactionmedia 462 with a segment of its cylindrical ring shape removed in orderto illustrate a combustion starting element 464 that is disposed withinthe catalytic reaction media 462, with the combustion starting element464 having a coiled shape and connected to a pair of electricallyconductive terminals 465, as part of an ignition system, extendingthrough the closed bottom end 448 of bottom chamber plate 426 as shownin FIG. 36C illustrating the bottom side of integrated chamber plateenclosure 425. A plurality of curved guide vanes 470, preferably six innumber, are also integral with the inside surface of closed bottom end448 of bottom chamber plate 426, with the plurality of curved guidevanes 470 positioned so as to form a fan-like structure. And, a proximalend of each guide vane out of the plurality of curved guide vanes 470 isadjacent to the flow-through fuel gas inlet 440, and a distal end ofeach guide vane is integral with an inside surface of guide vane 454ring and positioned such that a ring opening out of the plurality ofguide vane ring openings 454A is between adjacent distal ends of a guidevane.

The bottom chamber plate 426, as illustrated in FIG. 36C, also containsa fuel gas tubular connector 472 coupled at one open end to the outsidesurface of closed bottom end 448 of the bottom chamber plate 426, withsaid open end of fuel gas connector 472 surrounding the flow-throughfuel gas inlet 440, and with an opposite open end of fuel gas tubularconnector 472 that can be fluidly connected to an fuel and air mixinginjector 436 within fuel supply assembly 430.

FIG. 37A, FIG. 37B and FIG. 38 illustrate in more detail the fuel supplyassembly 430, fuel supply platform 428 and fuel canister 432 withincatalytic combustion assembly 422. With one exception, these componentswithin catalytic combustion assembly 422 are identical to the fuelsupply assemblies 130 and 230, fuel supply platforms 128 and 228 andfuel canisters 132 and 232 illustrated and described In connection withthe catalytic heating systems 100 and 200. And, although theIdentification numbers for the component parts of fuel supply assembly430, fuel supply platform 428 and fuel canister 432 as shown in thefigures are different than the identification numbers for the componentparts of: fuel supply assembly 130, fuel supply platform 128, and fuelcanister 132 shown in FIG. 15A, FIG. 15B and FIG. 16; and fuel supplyassembly 230, fuel supply platform 228: and fuel canister 232 shown inFIG. 23A, FIG. 23B and FIG. 29, the corresponding parts component partsare identical. The only component part of fuel supply assembly 430 thatis not disclosed in fuel supply assembly 130 or 230 is a fuel gas inlettubular extension 430E fluidly connected at one end to the fuel and airmixing injector 436 and can be fluidly connected at the other end tofuel gas tubular connector 472 integral with the bottom chamber plate426 integral with integrated chamber plate enclosure 425.

The catalytic combustion assembly 422 within catalytic heating system400 can be used in a manner, which is the same as the manner ofutilizing the catalytic combustion assemblies 222 and 322 withincatalytic heating systems 200 and 300, respectively, to generate a fuelgas and entrained air mixture to be injected into a combustion chamberSpecifically, the fuel canister 432 within catalytic combustion assembly422, which Is releasably connected to the fuel supply assembly 430,supplies fuel gas to the fuel supply assembly 430, which in turnutilizes the fuel and air mixing injector 436 to generate the fuel gasand entrained air mixture. However, the manner in which the catalyticheating system 400 utilizes the fuel gas and entrained air mixture togenerate conductive heat from a catalytic combustion process has severalsignificant differences from the other two systems. In the catalyticheating system 400, the injected fuel gas and entrained air mixture isinjected through the flow-through fuel gas inlet 440 within the centerof bottom chamber plate 426, just like in system 300 where the fuel anda if mixture is injected through flow-through fuel gas inlet 356 withinthe center of bottom chamber plate 326, but before the fuel gas andentrained air mixture reaches the catalytic reaction media 462, themixture flows through the plurality of curved guide vanes 470. Thisaction causes the fuel gas and entrained air mixture to divide into acorresponding plurality of curved fluid flows and for the curved fluidflows to accelerate The plurality of curved fluid flows then passthrough a corresponding plurality of guide vane ring openings 454Athrough the guide vane 454 ring. And, as the plurality of curved fluidflows exit the corresponding plurality guide vane ring openings 454A, acorresponding plurality of guide vane ring flaps 456 further acceleratethe curved fluid flows, thereby creating a circulating flow fieldconcentration fuel gas and entrained air mixture within the catalyticreaction media 462 and generally adjacent to inside concave surface 462Aof the catalytic reaction media 462. More specifically, the circulatingflow field has both a velocity distribution and a fuel gas and entrainedair mixture concentration distribution that is more spatially uniformwithin in the catalytic reaction media 462 than would otherwise occurwithout the circulating flow field. At a predetermined time after theformation of the circulating concentration of the fuel gas and entrainedair mixture, the microprocessor 466 activates the ignition system,causing combustion starting element 464 to generate heat and ultimatelyignite the fuel gas and entrained air mixture that has startedcirculating inside the catalytic reaction media 462. Because of thecircular flow, the ignition process proceeds in a circular patternaround the catalytic reaction media until all of the reaction media iscontributing to the catalytic heat production. The heat generated fromthe catalytic combustion process will be distributed over a greaterreaction zone volume within the catalytic reaction media 462, similarlycontributing to a more uniform distribution of heat energy across theintegrated chamber plate 425 and its integral stovetop surface 401, aswell as inhibiting the heat generation reaction zone in the catalyticreaction media 462 from collapsing toward the flow-through fuel gasinlet 440. As the catalytic combustion process proceeds within catalyticcombustion chamber 460, heat is transferred to the top chamber plate 424and to stovetop surface 401, which can be used to heat a container, likea pot, pan or similar container that can be used to heat its contents bysimply placing the container on the stovetop surface 401. Exhaust passesthrough the outside convex surface 4628 of the catalytic reaction media462 and ultimately passes through the plurality of exhaust outlets 458through perimeter wall 442 of bottom chamber plate 426 and then toatmosphere. A microprocessor 366 within fuel supply assembly 330 isutilized to control the spark ignition system which generates anelectrical spark between the pair of wires forming the combustionstarting element 374. And, a temperature sensor 476 can be integral withthe bottom side 426B of bottom chamber plate 426 for sensing thetemperature of the catalytic combustion process.

The catalytic heating systems described herein embody novel andthermodynamically significant features that are not present in otherportable catalytic heating systems. One such feature is that thestovetop heating surface is integral with the integrated chamber platethat contains the enclosed catalytic combustion chamber. As a resultheat from the catalytic combustion process within the catalyticcombustion chamber is transferred by thermal conduction through theintegrated chamber plate to its integral stovetop surface. Similarly,when a container placed on the stovetop surface, heat is transferredfrom the stovetop surface by thermal conduction to the bottom of thecontainer that is in contact with the stovetop surface Another featurethat is provided for in catalytic heating systems 200 and 300 is thatthe elongate and enclosed catalytic combustion chamber has a single fuelgas opening and a single exhaust opening, with both openings fluidlyconnected to the catalytic combustion chamber. As a result, almost allof the heat from the catalytic combustion process within the catalyticcombustion chamber is transferred to the integrated chamber plate,rather than having a substantial amount of the heat exit the chamber asexhaust. This feature significantly enhances the efficiency of thesystems in heating the stovetop surface. Another feature that ischaracteristic of catalytic heating systems 200 and 300 is that whendimethyl ether is utilized as the preferred fuel gas, the efficiency ofthe system is further enhanced due to the fact that dimethyl ether, ascompared to other fuel gases, has a relatively low stoichiometric air tofuel ratio which provides for the complete combustion of the fuel gasand entrained air mixture within the catalytic combustion chamber. Thiscomplete combustion also has an added safety feature in that nouncombusted fuel gas is discharged to atmosphere, where the fuel gascould contaminate the air, further, the preferred shape of the catalyticcombustion chamber within in catalytic heating systems 200 and 300 iscurved, which further enhances the heating efficiency of the system. Asthe ignited fuel gas and entrained air mixture reacts with the catalyticreaction media disposed with the catalytic combustion chamber and flowsthrough the chamber, centrifugal force generates an asymmetric laminarflow velocity, causing higher temperatures to be generated from thecatalytic combustion process at the outside convex portion of catalyticreaction media. These higher temperatures, in turn, cause aconcentration of heat to be transferred to integrated chamber plate andits integral stovetop surface.

In alternate embodiment of the catalytic heating system 300, each of theplurality of catalytic combustion chambers within the integrated chamberplate can have a linear shape, rather than a curved shape. In thisembodiment, the flow of the ignited fuel gas and entrained air mixturethrough the catalytic combustion chambers would not accelerate causingan increase in the concentration of the ignited fuel gas and entrainedair mixture in the chamber. However, a comparable effect can beimplemented by using the flow diverter attached to the bottom surface ofthe top chamber plate. As describe in detail above the flow divertercauses the flow of ignited fuel gas and entrained air mixture to remainadjacent to and in contact with to the bottom surface of the top chamberplate, resulting in an increase in the concentration of the ignited fuelgas and entrained air mixture between the catalytic reaction media andthe top chamber plate, which gives rise to a concentration of highertemperatures In the catalytic combustion chamber that conductively heatsthe top chamber plate and its integral stovetop surface.

The catalytic ideating systems described herein embody novel andthermodynamically significant features that are not present in otherportable catalytic heating systems. One such feature is that thestovetop heating surface is integral with the integrated chamber platethat contains the enclosed catalytic combustion chamber. As a resultheat from the catalytic combustion process within the catalyticcombustion chamber is transferred primarily by thermal conductionthrough the integrated chamber plate to Its integral stovetop surface.Similarly, when a container placed on the stovetop surface, heat istransferred from the stovetop surface by thermal conduction to thebottom of the container that is in contact with the stovetop surface.Another feature that is provided for in catalytic heating systems 200and 300 is that the elongate and enclosed catalytic combustion chamberhas a single fuel gas opening and a single exhaust opening, with bothopenings fluidly connected to the catalytic combustion chamber. As aresult, almost all of the heat from the catalytic combustion processwithin the catalytic combustion chamber is transferred to the integratedchamber plate, rather than having a substantial amount of the heat exitthe chamber as exhaust. This feature significantly enhances theefficiency of the systems in heating the stovetop surface.

Another feature that is characteristic of catalytic heating systems 200and 300 is that when dimethyl ether is utilized as the preferred fuelgas, the efficiency of the system is further enhanced due to the factthat dimethyl ether, as compared to other fuel gases, has a relativelylow stoichiometric air to fuel ratio which provides for the completecombustion of the fuel gas and entrained air mixture within thecatalytic combustion chamber. This complete combustion also has an addedsafety feature in that no uncombusted fuel gas is discharged toatmosphere, where the fuel gas could contaminate the air. Further, thepreferred shape of the catalytic combustion chamber within in catalyticheating systems 200 and 300 is curved, which further enhances theheating efficiency of fee system. As the ignited fuel gas and entrainedair mixture reacts with the catalytic reaction media disposed with thecatalytic combustion chamber and flows through the chamber, centrifugalforce generates an asymmetric laminar flow velocity, causing themajority of the heat energy generated from the catalytic combustionprocess, to be produced in a zone much closer to the sidewall surface ofthe catalytic combustion chamber that is adjacent to the outside convexportion of the catalytic reaction media than would otherwise occur. Thisaction, in turn, causes a more efficient transfer of heat energy to theintegrated chamber plate and its integral stovetop surface.

Although catalytic heating system 400 does not provide for an elongateand enclosed catalytic combustion chamber as in systems 200 and 300, thecatalytic heating system 400 does contain novel integrated chamber platecomponents that provide for enhanced efficiency in heating the stovetopsurface. As discussed in more detail above, the fan-like structure andits related components creates a concentrated flow of circulating fuelgas and entrained air mixture as the flow enters the inside concavesurface of the catalytic reaction media. This results in a circulatingflow field with both a velocity distribution and a fuel gas andentrained air mixture concentration distribution that is more spatiallyuniform within the catalytic reaction media than would otherwise occur.In turn, the heat generated from the catalytic combustion process willbe distributed over a greater reaction zone volume of the catalyticmedia, similarly contributing to a more uniform distribution of heatenergy across the integrated chamber plate and its integral stove top,as well as, inhibiting the heat generating reaction zone in thecatalytic media from collapsing toward the flow-through fuel gas inlet.

The catalytic heating systems described herein have general industrialapplicability in that they can be utilized to heat a containercontaining a beverage or food using a stovetop surface.

Although a preferred embodiment and other embodiments have beendescribed, It will be recognized by those skilled in the art that otherembodiments and features can be provided without departing from theunderlying principles of those embodiments. The scope of the inventionis defined by the appended claims.

1. A catalytic combustion assembly for heating a stovetop surface,comprising: a chamber plate having chamber plate top and bottom sides,with a chamber plate perimeter wall disposed between and integral withthe chamber plate top and bottom sides, and with the stovetop surfaceintegral with the chamber plate top side; a flow-through fuel gas inletand a flow-through exhaust outlet integral with the chamber plate bottomside; an enclosed catalytic combustion chamber integral with the chamberplate, with the enclosed catalytic combustion chamber having at one enda combustion chamber fuel gas opening fluidly connected to theflow-through fuel gas inlet and at another end a combustion chamberexhaust opening fluidly connected to the flow-through exhaust outlet,and with no other openings providing access to the enclosed catalyticcombustion chamber; a catalytic reaction media disposed within theenclosed catalytic combustion chamber; a combustion starting elementdisposed within the catalytic reaction media; a fuel supply assemblymounted on a fuel supply platform, with the fuel supply assembly havinga fuel and air mixing injector fluidly connected to the flow-throughfuel gas inlet; a fuel canister sealably connected to the fuel supplyplatform for supplying a fuel gas to the fuel supply assembly; andwhereby the fuel and air mixing injector within the catalytic combustionassembly can entrain the fuel gas with air and inject a fuel gas andentrained air mixture through the flow-through fuel gas Inlet and intothe enclosed catalytic combustion chamber, where the combustion startingelement can ignite the fuel gas and entrained air mixture and thecatalytic reaction media can generate a catalytic combustion processwithin the enclosed catalytic combustion chamber, with exhaust from thecatalytic combustion process flowing through the flow-through exhaustoutlet to atmosphere, with the catalytic combustion process transferringheat to the chamber plate top side and integral stovetop surface, andwith the stovetop surface for conductively transferring heat to acontainer.
 2. The catalytic combustion assembly of claim 1 in which thefuel gas is selected from the group consisting of dimethyl ether,butane, propane and mixtures thereof.
 3. The catalytic combustionassembly of claim 1 in which the fuel gas has a stoichiometric air tofuel ratio of about
 15. 4. The catalytic combustion assembly of claim 1in which the catalytic reaction media comprises a substrate, combinedwith a catalyst support and an active catalyst.
 5. The catalyticcombustion assembly of claim 1 in which the catalytic combustion chamberhas an elongate cylindrically shape.
 6. The catalytic combustionassembly of claim 1 in which the enclosed catalytic combustion chamberhas a curved shape.
 7. The catalytic combustion assembly of claim 8 inwhich the curved shape of the enclosed catalytic combustion chamber hasa circular curvature.
 8. The catalytic heating assembly of claim 1 inwhich the enclosed catalytic combustion chamber has a partially curvedand linear shape.
 9. The catalytic heating assembly of claim 5 in whichthe enclosed catalytic combustion chamber having a cylindrically shapehas a diameter of about 10 millimeters or less.
 10. The catalyticheating assembly of claim 5 in which the enclosed catalytic combustionchamber having a cylindrically shape has a diameter of between about 5millimeters and about 10 millimeters.
 11. A catalytic combustionassembly for heating a stovetop surface, comprising: a chamber platehaving chamber plate top and bottom sides, with a chamber plateperimeter wall disposed between and integral with the chamber plate topand bottom sides, and with the stovetop surface integral with thechamber plate top side; a flow-through fuel gas inlet integral with thechamber plate bottom side and a flow-through exhaust outlet integralwith the chamber plate perimeter wall; a plurality of enclosed catalyticcombustion chambers integral with the chamber plate. with each enclosedcatalytic combustion chamber out of the plurality of enclosed catalyticcombustion chambers having at one end a combustion chamber fuel gasopening fluidly connected to the flow-through fuel gas inlet integralwith the chamber plate bottom side, and at another end of the enclosedcatalytic combustion chamber a combustion chamber exhaust openingfluidly connected to the flow-through exhaust outlet integral with thechamber plate perimeter wall and with no other openings providing accessto the enclosed catalytic combustion chamber: a plurality of catalyticreaction media disposed within a corresponding plurality of the enclosedcatalytic combustion chambers; a combustion starting element disposedwithin the flow-through fuel gas inlet; a fuel supply assembly mountedon a fuel supply platform: with the fuel supply assembly having fuel andair mixing injector fluidly connected to the flow-through fuel gasinlet; a fuel canister sealably connected to the fuel supply platformfor supplying a fuel gas to the fuel supply assembly; and whereby thefuel and air mixing injector within the fuel supply assembly can entrainthe fuel gas with air and inject a fuel gas and entrained air mixtureinto the flow-through fuel gas inlet, where the combustion startingelement can ignite the fuel gas and entrained air mixture, and ignitedfuel gas and entrained air mixture can then flow through the pluralityof catalytic reaction media within a corresponding plurality of enclosedcatalytic combustion chambers, where the plurality of catalytic reactionmedia can generate a catalytic combustion process within thecorresponding plurality of enclosed catalytic combustion chambers, withthe catalytic combustion process transferring heat to the chamber platetop side and integral stovetop surface, and with the stovetop surfacefor conductively transferring heat to a container.
 12. The catalyticheating assembly of claim 11 in which the fuel gas is selected from thegroup of dimethyl ether, butane, propane and mixtures thereof.
 13. Thecatalytic heating assembly of claim 11 in which the fuel gas has astoichiometric air to fuel ratio of about
 15. 14. The catalytic heatingassembly of claim 11 in which the catalytic reaction media comprises asubstrate, combined with a catalyst support and an active catalyst. 15.The catalytic combustion assembly of claim 11 in which each enclosedcatalytic combustion chamber out of the plurality of enclosed catalyticcombustion chambers has an elongate curved shape.
 16. The catalyticcombustion assembly of claim 15 in which the enclosed catalyticcombustion chamber having an elongate curved shape has four elongatesidewall surfaces, with each elongate sidewall surface normal toadjacent sidewall surfaces and opposite from a sidewall surface.
 17. Thecatalytic combustion assembly of claim 16 in which the distance betweenopposite sidewall surfaces is between about 5 and 10 millimeters. 18.The catalytic combustion assembly of claim 16 in which the distancebetween opposite sidewall surfaces is about 10 millimeters or less. 19.The catalytic combustion assembly of claim 11 in which each enclosedcatalytic combustion chamber out of the plurality of enclosed catalyticcombustion chambers has an elongate linear shape.
 20. The catalyticcombustion assembly of claim 19 in which the enclosed catalyticcombustion chamber has an elongate linear shape having four elongatesidewall surfaces, with each elongate sidewall surface normal toadjacent sidewall surfaces and opposite from a sidewall surface.
 21. Thecatalytic combustion assembly of claim 19 in which the top chamber platetop side has an inside surface with a flow diverter integral with theinside surface and positioned at the center of the inside surface. 22.The catalytic combustion assembly of claim 20 in which the distancebetween opposite sidewall surfaces is between about 5 and 10millimeters.
 23. The catalytic combustion assembly of claim 20 in whichthe distance between opposite sidewall surfaces is about 10 millimetersor less.
 24. A catalytic combustion assembly for heating a stovetopsurface, comprising: a chamber plate enclosure having a chamber platetop and bottom sides, with a chamber plate perimeter wall disposedbetween and integral with the chamber plate top and bottom sides, andwith the stovetop surface integral with the chamber plate top side; aflow-through fuel gas inlet integral with the chamber plate bottom sideand a flow-through exhaust outlet integral with the chamber plateperimeter wall; a guide vane ring disposed within the chamber plateenclosure, with the guide vane ring having a plurality of guide vanering openings and a corresponding plurality of guide vane ring flaps,with each guide vane ring flap out of the plurality of guide vane ringflaps integral at one end with the guide vane ring and with an oppositeend of the guide vane ring flap extending away from a guide vane ringopening out of the plurality of guide vane ring openings; a catalyticcombustion chamber within a space within the chamber plate enclosure,with the space defined by the chamber plate perimeter wall, the chamberplate top and bottom sides, and the guide vane ring; a catalyticreaction media disposed within the catalytic combustion chamber; aplurality of guide vanes disposed within the chamber plate enclosure andpositioned between the guide vane ring and the flow-through fuel gasinlet, with each guide vane out of the plurality of guide vanes adjacentat a proximal end to the flow-through fuel gas inlet and integral at adistal end with the guide vane ring, with each distal end of a guidevane out of the plurality of guide varies positioned such that a guidevane opening out of the plurality of guide vane openings is betweendistal ends of adjacent guide vanes; a combustion starting elementdisposed within the catalytic reaction media; a fuel supply assemblymounted on a fuel supply platform, with the fuel supply assembly havinga fuel and air mixing injector fluidly connected to the fuel gas inlet;fuel canister sealably connected to the fuel supply platform forsupplying a fuel gas to the fuel supply assembly; and whereby the fueland air mixing injector within the fuel supply assembly can be used toentrain the fuel gas with air and inject a fuel gas and entrained airmixture through the flow-through fuel gas inlet and cause a flow of thefuel gas and entrained air mixture to pass between the plurality ofguide vanes where the flow accelerates; the flow can then pass throughthe plurality of guide vane ring openings and then flow past theplurality of guide vane flaps, causing the flow to accelerate further;and the flow can then penetrate the catalytic reaction media within thecatalytic combustion chamber, where the flow can be ignited by thecombustion starting element, generating a catalytic combustion processwithin the catalytic combustion chamber, with the catalytic combustionprocess transferring heat to the chamber plate top side and integralstovetop surface, with the stovetop surface for conductivelytransferring heat to a container.
 25. The catalytic combustion assemblyof claim 24 in which the fuel gas is selected from the group of dimethylether, butane, propane and mixture thereof.
 26. The catalytic heatingassembly of claim 24 in which the fuel gas has a stoichiometric air tofuel ratio of about
 15. 27. The catalytic combustion assembly of claim24 in which the catalytic reaction media comprises a substrate, combinedwith a catalyst support and an active catalyst.
 26. The catalyticheating assembly of claim 24 in which the catalytic reaction media has acylindrical ring shape.
 29. A method of heating a stovetop surface:providing for a flow of a fuel gas, with the fuel gas having astoichiometric ratio of about 15; increasing the velocity of the flow ofthe fuel gas; entraining the flow of the fuel gas with air, therebycreating a flow of fuel gas and entrained air mixture; maintaining anentrainment ratio of about 15 or above for the flow of fuel gas andentrained air mixture; constraining the flow of fuel gas and entrainedair mixture to an enclosed curved path; contacting the flow of fuel gasand entrained air mixture with a catalytic reaction media; igniting theflow of fuel gas and entrained air mixture, thereby generating thecatalytic combustion process; combusting all of the fuel gas during thecatalytic combustion process; and conducting heat from the catalyticcombustion process to the stove top.